J. 7.^  XH 


LIBRARY  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 

PRINCETON.    N.    J. 
Presented  by 

BR  129  .Y6  \ 

Yorke,  J.  F. 
Notes  on  evolution  and 
Christianity 


ir^7,<C- 


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at  the  back.  To  do  otherwise  would,  in  some  cases,  release 
other  leaves. 

YORKE,  J.  F.  Notes  on  Evolution  and  Chris- 
tianity. By  J.  F.  YoRKE.  New  York:  Henry  Holt 
&  Co.,   1883.      i2mo,  pp.  xii,  301. 

NOTES  ON  EVOLUTION  AND  CHRIS- 
TIANITY. By  J.  F.  YoRKE.  New  York  :  Henry 
Holt  &  Co.,  1S83.      i2mo,  pp.  xii,  301. 

EVOLUTION.  Notes  on  Evolution  and  Chris- 
tianity. By  J.  F.  Yorke.  New  York,  Henry 
Holt  &  Co.,  1883.      i2mo,  pp.  xii,  301. 

CHRISTIANITY.  Notes  on  Evolution  and 
Christianity.  By  J.  F.  Yorke.  New  York : 
Henry  Holt  &  Co.,  1S83.      i2mo,  pp.  xii,  301. 

RELIGION.      Notes   on    Evolution    and   Chris- 
tianity.     By   J.  F.   Yorke.       New  York :    Henry 
Holt  &  Co.,  1883,     i2mo,  pp.  xii,  301. 

PHILOSOPHY.  Notes  on  Evolution  and  Chris- 
tianity. By  J.  F.  Yorke.  New  York :  Henry  Holt 
&  Co.,  1883.     i2mo,  pp.  xii,  301. 


NOTES 


ON 


JAN  .-  '  1924 


Evolution  and  Christianity 


J.  F.  YORKE 


^'NATURA    NON  FACIT  SALTUM'' 


NEW    YORK 

HENRY    HOLT    AND    COMPANY 

1883 


PREFACE. 


The  object  of  the  following  simple  Notes  is  to 
turn  a  small — but,  it  is  hoped,  not  inopportune — 
stream  of  facts  and  criticism  on  to  an  important 
question :  Is  there  in  the  teaching  of  Christ  an 
originality  so  wonderful,  as  to  be  accounted  for  only 
by  the  assumption  of  a  special  Divine  Revelation  ? 
The  facts  alluded  to,  whether  historical  or  scientific, 
are  recorded,  for  the  most  part,  in  writings  too 
elaborate  or  too  learned  for  the  busy  majority.  Yet 
the  consciousness  that  new  knowledge  is  threatening 
with  dissolution  old  views  of  religion  and  ethics  is 
wide  and  deep  ;  and  not  less  so  is  the  desire  to  get 
at  the  gist  of  the  controversy,  and  to  learn  what — 
concerning  this  question  above  all  others — the  new 
knowledge  really  has  to  teach. 

These  Notes  then  are  an  attempt  to  meet  that 
desire,  and  to  point  out  the  bearing  of  Evolution 
upon  Religion,  and  especially  upon  Christianity.  It 
is  well  to  know  in  what  direction  we  are  moving. 
It  is  well  that  our  minds  should  be  accustomed  to 
changes  as  tJiey  come,  so  that  the  consequent  modifi- 


VI.  PREFACE. 

cations  of  the  old  creeds  may  be  accompanied  by  as 
little  danger  and  distress  as  need  be.  The  reader, 
however,  must  not  regard  this  volume  as  claiming  to 
settle  any  of  the  questions  raised :  its  aim  is  much 
more  modest. 


It  would  seem  an  almost  certain  corollary  of  the 
general  theory  of  Evolution,  that  all  so-called  new 
ideas  are  but  the  natural  outcome  of  previous  ideas  of 
the  same  class  ;  from  which  it  follows  that  Christ's 
teaching  can  be  no  more  than  an  indispensable  link 
in  the  moral  progress  of  humanity  ;  that  he  invented 
no  new  morality,  but  that  his  work  was  the  reforma- 
tion and  more  forcible  application  of  the  old. 
This  was  indeed  recognized,  in  a  sense,  long  ago, 
when  Augustine  said:  ''Christ  came  in  the  flesh, 
and  consequently  the  true  religion,  already  in  exist- 
ence, took  the  name  Christian.  This  is  at  the  pres- 
ent time  the  Christian  religion:  not  that  it  had  not  a 
prior  existence,  but  because  it  afterwards  received 
this  title."  So,  too,  Eusebius  wrote:  "The  religion 
published  by  Jesus  Christ  is  neither  new  nor 
strange." 

Not  only  is  this  true  of  the  Christian  morality, 
it  is  equally  so  of  what  has  become  the  Christian 
theology.  The  doctrines  of  the  Trinity  in  Unity,  of 
the  Miraculous  Conception  and  Divine  Incarnation, 


PREFACE.  Vii. 

are  to  be  found  in  the  ancient  religions  of  Egypt,  of 
India,  and  of  Persia:  that  of  the  Messiah  is  Persian: 
the  Atonement  comes  to  us  from  Egypt :  the  behef 
in  Satan  from  Persia :  the  Temptation  by  the  devil  in 
the  wilderness  is  a  legend  of  Buddha:  the  doctrines 
of  a  Resurrection,  a  Judgment,  Heaven  and  Hell, 
and  of  a  terrible  Future  Punishment  in  store  for 
the  wicked,  are  to  be  found  in  most  of  the  ancient 
religions.  These  are  historical  facts,  not  perhaps  so 
generally  known  as  they  ought  to  be,  but  disputed 
by  no  one ;  orthodox  commentators,  however,  and 
evolutionists  drawing  very  different  deductions  from 
them.  The  former  claim  all  such  anticipations  of 
their  own  creed  as  so  many  Divine  foreshadowings, 
or  "  types,"  of  what,  for  them,  is  "  the  truth  ;  "  and 
for  those  who  do  not  object  to  intrinsic  improbability 
such  an  explanation  is  satisfactory  enough.  To  the 
evolutionist,  on  the  other  hand,  these  facts  are 
tolerably  clear  indications  that  the  theology,  like  the 
ethics,  of  Christianity  is  but  a  natural  selection  from 
pre-existing  materials;  and  he  respects  it,  as  he 
respects  all  necessary  stages  in  man's  search  after 
what  is  good  and  true,  but  not  otherwise.  All 
minds  travel  most  readily  along  the  line  of  least 
resistance;  but  whilst  for  some,  to  imagine  a  con- 
stant, personal  interference  and  detailed  guidance  on 
the  part  of  the  Deity  in  every  occurrence  of  the  lives 
of  men,  involves  least  effort :  others,  owing  to  scien- 


viii.  preface; 


tific  training  and  habits  of  thought,  find  it  easier  not 
to  suppose  supernatural  causes  at  work,  when  the 
ordinary  forces  of  nature  can  give  a  satisfactory- 
account  of  the  events  in  question. 


The  first  chapter  of  these  Notes  will  be  devoted 
to  a  very  brief  sketch  of  some  of  the  Eastern  religions 
which  preceded  Christianity,  and  of  which  it  should 
be  regarded  as  a  natural  continuation  and  expansion. 
In  the  second,  by  far  the  longest  and  most  important 
part  of  the  volume,  will  be  discussed  the  more  imme- 
diate sources  of  Christ's  moral  doctrine:  its  inter- 
pretation, by  the  light  of  the  practice  and  belief 
of  his  day:  and  its  further  development  in  the 
Church.  The  method  adopted  will  be  to  arrange 
the  teaching  of  the  Rabbis  and  of  Christ  consecu- 
tively, and  under  various  headings.  By  this  plan  the 
reader  will  be  able  the  more  readily  to  satisfy  himself 
as  to  our  precise  debt  to  Christ  with  regard  to  any 
particular  subject.  The  third  and  final  chapter  will 
contain  a  few  notes  on  some  of  the  essential  differ- 
ences between  all  these  purely  empirical,  pre-scien- 
tific  systems  of  ethics,  and  what  may  be  termed  nat- 
ural, or  necessary,  morality.  The  ground  to  be  gone 
over  being  so  extensive,  little  more  can  be  attempted 
than  to  indicate  the  main  lines  of  thought  along 
which  modern  criticism  on  these  questions  is  moving, 


PREFACE.  ix. 

SO  far  as  that  is  possible  in  a  work  of  this  slight  and 
popular  character.  A  list  of  books,  however,  will  be 
added  in  an  appendix,  for  the  further  assistance  of 
those  who  may  wish  to  continue  this  deeply  inter- 
esting study. 

With  regard  to  the  first  and  second  chapters, 
their  object  being  to  provide  a  satisfactory  basis  for 
estimating  the  exact  position  of  the  Ethics  of  Christ 
in  moral  history,  there  should  be  no  doubt  as  to  their 
substantial  accuracy  in  point  of  chronology.  It  may, 
however,  very  possibly  be  the  case  that  some  of  the 
passages  from  the  Talmud  (notwithstanding  the 
remarks  of  Professor  Deutsch  and  Dr.  Zipser,  quoted 
in  the  second  chapter — see  p.  60),  and  other  Rabbini- 
cal sayings,  are  of  a  later  date  than  the  time  of 
Christ.  In  view  of  such  probable  need  for  correc- 
tions, the  author  humbly  begs  to  borrow  a  few 
words  from  a  well-known  writer:  "I  have  come  to 
this  determination  in  my  own  mind, — that  a  work 
is  as  good  as  manuscript,  and  is  invested  with  all 
the  same  privileges — till  it  appears  in  a  second  edi- 
tion.". 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER.     I.     (Page  i.) 

THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   HEBREW   MORALITY. 

Egyptian  Religion  atid  Ethics,  2 — Morality  of  the  Twelve 
Tribes,  8 — The  Prophets,  19 — Mithraism,  27 — Buddhism, 
33 — Organic  Growth  of  Religions,  53, 

CHAPTER     II.     (Page  57.) 

THE  ETHICS  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 
The  Ethical  Environment  of  Christ,  57 — The  Talmud,  59 — 
Peculiarity  of  Ancient  Historians,  65 — Miracles  as 
Proofs,  69 — Quotations,  72 — The  Divine  Nature,  73  ; 
{The  Doctrines  of  Philo,  75) — Prayer,  jj  ]  {Modern 
Theory  of  Causation,  79) —  Trust,  84 — Repentance,  86 — 
Truth,  87  ;  {Oaths,  2>%)— Justice,  89 — Mercy,  90 — Love,  91 
— Charity  and  Almsgiving,  95  ;  {Critical  Interpretation 
of  Christ's  Teaching,  98) — Work  and  Action,  104 — 
Miscellaneous  Sayings,  107 —  The  Ascetic  Basis  of  Chris- 
tian Morality,  no — The  Essenes,  113 — Asceticism  and 
Purity,  1x6 — Family  Ties,  124?  {The  "Secret  and 
Method"  of  Christ,  125) — Marriage  and  Divorce,  132  ; 
{Celibacy,  135) — Poverty  and  Riches,  141  ;  {Christian 
Communism,  144) — Usury,  148 — Humility,  and  the  Non- 
Resistance  of  Evil,  151 — Sanctions  and  Arguments,  158 — 


Xll.  CONTENTS. 

Other- Worldliness,  i6o — Terrorism,  i68 — Hell,  175 — Ex- 
communication, 182 — Future  Punishrnent,  184 — Attitude 
of  the  Liberal  Theology,  190 — Inconsistencies,  &^c.,  in  the 
Reported  Teaching  of  Christ,  193 — The  Great  Original- 
ity of  Christ,  198 — His  Attacks  on  Ceremonialism,  200 — 
The  Success  of  Christianity,  208 — Early  Christian  Mor- 
ality, 212 — Modern  Tolerance,  215. 

CHAPTER     III.     (Page  221.) 

NATURAL  MORALITY, 
7"^!?  Meaning  of  Morality,  222 — Origiti  and  Development  of 
Moral  Qualities  and  of  the  Religious  Feelings,  224 — 
Heredity,  230 — Savage  Ethics,  233 — Conscience,  238 — 
Nature  and  Functions  of  Evil,  248 — Correlation  of 
Qualities,  251 — The  Physical  Basis  of  Love,  257 — Health- 
iness of  Pleasure,  260 — Christiait  Postulates  about  Life, 
263 — Altruism,  265 — Pre-Scientifc  Characteristics  of 
Religion,  268 — The  Christian  Ideal,  270 — Compromises, 
272 — Natural  Moral  Sanctions,  276 — The  Prophecy  of 
Science,  279. 

APPENDICES. 

1.  Short  Summary 285 

2.  List  of  Works  to  be  consulted     .       .       .  287 

3.  Passages  in  the  New  Testament  referred  to  291 


NOTES 


EVOLUTION  AND  CHRISTIANITY. 


NOTES  ON 

EVOLUTION  AND  CHRISTIANITY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   HEBREW   MORALITY. 

In  the  first  portion  of  these  Notes  a  shght  sketch 
will  be  given  of  some  of  the  most  conspicuous  points 
in  that  moral  evolution  of  which  the  doctrines  of 
Christ;  rationally  viewed,  appear  to  be  the  natural 
culmination.  The  result  will  be  some  suggestive 
and  easily  appreciable  evidence  of  the  satisfactory 
manner  in  which  the  general  processes  of  evolution 
can  account  for  even  the  highest  religious  develop- 
ment— and  more  than  this  it  would  be  undesirable 
to  attempt  on  the  present  occasion.  The  reader  will 
moreover  doubtless  excuse  the  paucity  of  the  com- 
ments on  the  quotations,  since  only  in  this  way  can 
the  whole  ground  be  gone  over  within  the  necessary 
limits  of  this  small  volume.  And,  after  all,  the 
passages  quoted,  if  read  fairly,  cannot  fail  to    say 


2  THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF 

for  themselves  all  that  they  are  here  intended  to 
show. 

We  shall  begin  by  passing  in  brief  review  some 
of  the  more  noticeable  stages  of  Hebrew  ethics, 
starting  with  the  wandering  life  of  the  Twelve  Tribes 
after  their  exodus  from  Egypt.  They  held  at  that 
time  a  very  curious — indeed  unique — position,  as  a 
still  barbarous  race,  which  had  lived  for  several 
centuries  surrounded  by  a  civilization  many  thousand 
years  old  ;  in  the  midst  of  which,  notwithstanding 
considerable  isolation,  a  few  of  their  number  at  all 
events  must  have  learnt  something  of  the  advanced 
moral  ideas  the  Egyptians  had  already  gained.  A 
good  deal  of  accurate  knowledge  has  lately  been 
acquired,  from  various  inscriptions  and  papyri,  of 
what  the  great  African  kingdom  had,  long  before 
that  time,  accomplished  in  the  arts  and  sciences  of 
civilization.  What  the  moral  and  religious  ideas  of 
this  nation  were  like,  which  is  the  only  point  that 
concerns  us  here,  will  be  best  shown  by  a  few  quota- 
tions, dating  back  to  a  very  remote  period  indeed — 
some  of  the  passages  given  having  been  written 
before  3000  B.C.,  that  is  to  say,  many  centuries  earlier 
than  the  supposed  date  of  the  Flood  described  in 
the  Book  of  Genesis. 

The  chief  theological  characteristic  of  this  first  of 
all  known  civilized  religions  is  the  doctrine  of  the 
Divine  Unity.     As  M.  de.  Rouge  says,  "  The  Egyp- 


HEBREW    MORALITY.  3 

tian  religion  comprehends  a  quantity  of  local  wor- 
ships. The  Egypt  which  Menes  brought  together 
entire  under  his  sceptre  was  divided  into  nomes,  each 
having  a  capital  town ;  each  of  these  regions  has 
its  principal  God  designed  by  a  special  name  ;  but 
it  is  always  the  same  doctrine  which  reappears  under 
different  names.  One  idea  predominates — that  of  a 
single  and  primeval  God  ;  everywhere  and  always  it  _ 
is  one  substance,  self-existent,  and  an  unapproach- 
able God." 

Nuk-pu-Nuk  ("  I  am  He  who  I  am  ")  and  Neith 
("  I  came  from  Myself  ")  are  two  of  the  more  remark- 
able descriptive  titles  given  to  the  Deity;  and  he  is 
addressed  in  terms  of  which  the  following  may  be 
accepted  as  good  examples  : — 

"  Every  one  glorifies  Thy  goodness.  Mild  is  Thy 
love  towards  us  ;  Thy  tenderness  surrounds  our  hearts ; 
great  is  Thy  love  in  all  the  souls  of  men." 

"  Let  not  Thy  face  be  turned  away  from  us  ;  the 
joy  of  our  hearts  is  to  contemplate  Thee.  Chase  all 
anguish  from  our  hearts.  .  .  .  He  wipes  tears  from 
off  all  faces." 

"  Hail  to  Thee,  Ra,  Lord  of  all  truth :  whose  ' 
shrine  is  hidden  ;  Lord  of  the  gods  :  who  listeneth 
to  the  poor  in  his  distress ;  gentle  of  heart  when  we 
cry  to  Thee.  Deliverer  of  the  timid  man  from  the  vio- 
lent ;  judging  the  poor — the  poor  and  the  oppressed. 
Lord  of  mercy  most  loving ;  at  whose  coming  men 


4  THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF 

live ;  at  whose  goodness  gods  and  men  rejoice.   Sov- 
ereign of  life,  health,  and  strength." 

"  Speak  riothing  offensive  of  the  Great  Creator,  if 
the  words  are  spoken  in  secret :  the  heart  of  man  is 
no  secret  to  Him  that  made  it.  ...  He  is  present 
with  thee,  though  thou  be  alone." 

"  O  my  God  and  Lord,  who  hast  made  me,  and 
formed  me,  give  me  an  eye  to  see  and  an  ear  to  hear 
Thy  glories." 

The  Egyptians  frequently  spoke  of  God  as  their 
Father,  and  of  themselves  as  "  sons  beloved  of  their 
Father."  He  is  the  "  Giver  of  life  "  ;  "  Toucher  of 
the  hearts,  Searcher  of  the  inward  parts,  is  His  name." 
And  it  was  but  in  natural  accompaniment  of  this 
belief  in  a  heavenly  Father  that  the  duty  of  honor- 
ing earthly  parents  was  strongly  insisted  on.  On 
several  tombs  have  been  found  such  inscriptions  as 
the  following : — "  I  honored  my  father  and  my 
mother ;  I  loved  my  brothers.  I  taught  little  chil- 
dren. I  took  care  of  orphans,  as  though  they  had 
been  my  own  children." 

"  We  are  acquainted  with  several  collections  of 
Precepts  and  Maxims  on  the  conduct  of  life.  Such 
are  the  Maxims  of  Ptahhotep  contained  in  the  Prisse 
Papyrus,  the  Instructions  of  Amenemhat,  and  the 
Maxims  of  Ani ;  and  fragments  of  other  important 
works  are  preserved  in  the  museums  of  Paris,  Leyden, 
and  St.  Petersburg.     The  most  venerable  of  them  is 


HEBREW   MORALITY.  5 

the  work  of  Ptahhotep,  which  dates  from  the  age  of 
the  Pyramids,  and  yet  appeals  to  the  authority  of 
the  ancients.  It  is  undoubtedly,  as  M.  Chabas 
called  it,  in  the  title  of  the  memorable  essay  in  which 
its  contents  were  first  made  known,  '  the  most 
Ancient  Book  of  the  World.'  The  manuscript  at 
Paris  which  contains  it  was  written  centuries  before 
the  Hebrew  lawgiver  was  born,  but  the  author  of  the 
work  lived  as  far  back  as  the  reign  of  King  Assa 
Tatkara  of  the  fifth  dynasty.  .  .  .  These  books  are 
very  similar  in  character  and  tone  to  the  Book  of 
Proverbs  in  our  Bible.  They  inculcate  the  study  of 
wisdom,  the  duty  to  parents  and  superiors,  respect 
for  property,  the  advantages  of  charitableness,  peace- 
ableness  and  content,  of  liberality,  humility,  chastity 
and  sobriety,  of  truthfulness  and  justice;  and  they 
show  the  wickedness  and  folly  of  disobedience,  strife, 
arrogance  and  pride,  of  slothfulness,  intemperance, 
unchastity,  and  other  vices."  (Renouf,  "  Hibbert 
Lectures,"  ii.  p.  yG). 

To  quote  only  two  examples  of  the  doctrine  of 
this  venerable  moralist : — "  If  thou  art  become  great 
after  thou  hast  been  humble,  and  if  thou  hast 
amassed  riches  after  poverty,  being  because  of  that 
the  first  in  thy  town ;  if  thou  art  known  for  thy 
wealth,  and  art  become  a  great  lord,  let  not  thy  heart 
become  proud  because  of  thy  riches,  for  it  is  God 
who  is  the  author  of  them  for  thee.     Despise  not 


6  THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF 

another  who  is  as  thou  wert ;  be  towards  him  as 
towards  thy  equal."  And  again : — "  The  obedience 
of  a  docile  son  is  a  blessing.  God  loves  obedience. 
Disobedience  is  hated  by  God.  The  obedience  of  a 
son  maketh  glad  the  heart  of  his  father.  ...  A 
son  teachable  in  God's  service  will  be  happy  in  con- 
sequence of  his  obedience  ;  he  will  grow  to  be  old, 
he  will  find  favor." 

The  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  was  also  held,  and 
the  Egyptians  expected  to  stand  before  the  divine 
judge  Osiris,  and  say,  "  I  have  not  privily  done  evil 
to  my  neighbors.  I  have  not  afflicted  any,  nor  caused 
any  to  weep.  I  have  not  told  lies.  I  have  not  done 
what  is  hateful  to  the  Gods.  I  have  not  calumniated 
the  slave  to  his  master.  I  have  not  been  idle.  I 
have  not  stolen.  I  have  not  committed  adultery. 
I  have  not  committed  murder."  And  so  on  through 
a  long  category  of  offences  ;  nor  could  any  man  hope 
to  pass  into  the  heavenly  regions  who  failed  to  satisfy 
even  one  of  these  conditions. 

A  noteworthy  anticipation  of  Christ's  thoughtful 
estimate  of  the  pre-eminent  importance  of  good 
works  is  found  in  their  funeral  lamentations,  where, 
for  example,  they  chanted,  "  There  is  no  fault  in 
him.  No  accuser  riseth  up  against  him.  In  the 
truth  he  liveth,  with  the  truth  he  nourisheth  himself. 
The  gods  are  satisfied  with  all  that  he  hath  done. 
.     .     .     He  succored  the  afflicted,  he  gave  bread  to 


HEBREW    MORALITY.  7 

the  hungry,  drink  to  the  thirsty,  clothes  to  the 
naked ;  he  sheltered  the  outcast,  his  doors  were  open 
to  the  stranger,  he  was  a  father  to  the  fatherless." 
It  may  be  added  that  this  beautiful  morality  is  from 
a  religious  service  more  than  five  thousand  years  old. 

"  Mind  thee  of  the  day  when  thou  too  shalt  start 
for  the  land  to  which  one  goeth  to  return  not  thence. 
Good  for  thee  will  have  been  a  good  life ;  therefore 
be  just  and  hate  iniquity,  for  he  who  loveth  what  is 
right  shall  triumph." 

"  I  have  lived  in  truth  and  fed  on  justice.  What 
I  have  done  for  humanity  was  salvation.  And  how 
I  loved  God,  God  only  and  my  heart  know." 

The  promise  to  the  blessed  was  that  "  they  shall 
pluck  the  sweetest  fruits  in  heaven,  for  they  have 
given  food  to  the  hungry,  and  water  to  the  thirsty, 
they  clad  the  naked,  and  lived  in  truth,  for  their 
heart  was  with  God,  and  God  was  with  them,  and 
they  will  enjoy  eternal  life  in  His  presence." 

As  M.  Chabas  says  of  this  refined  moral  and  reli- 
gious code,  "  None  of  the  Christian  virtues  is  for- 
gotten in  it :  piety,  charity,  gentleness,  self-command 
in  word  and  action,  chastity,  the  protection  of  the 
weak,  benevolence  towards  the  humble,  deference  to 
superiors,  respect  for  property  in  its  minutest  details. 
.  .  all  is  expressed  there,  and  in  extremely 
clear  language." 


8  THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF 

It  seems  hardly  necessary  to  add  (what  even  the 
few  quotations  here  given  have  indeed  shown)  that 
all  the  ethical  laws  of  the  Mosaic  decalogue  can  be 
traced  to  an  Egyptian  origin ;  and  since  Moses,  at 
all  events,  must  have  been  acquainted  with  their 
legislation  and  moral  doctrines,  we  are  under  no 
necessity  to  believe,  on  evidence  that  will  only  stand 
a  very  friendly  analysis,  that  the  law  was  super- 
naturally  delivered  from  Sinai  as  a  divine  revelation : 
the  simple  explanation  that  the  law-giver  and  his 
people  had  but  recently  left  a  civilized  country, 
where  not  only  these  commands,  but  others  of  a  far 
higher  degree  of  morality,  had  prevailed  for  centu- 
ries, being  perfectly  adequate.  Indeed,  it  simply 
shows  in  what  a  backward  state  the  Israelites  then 
were,  that  only  such  a  rude  and  barbarous  code  as 
they  practised  was  possible  for  them.  For  the  most 
brutal  tribes  of  North  American  Indians — the  Apa- 
ches, for  instance, — the  fiercest  races  of  Central  Asia 
— such  as  the  Afghans — could  not  show  a  blacker 
record  of  determined  cruelty,  a  greater  glorification 
of  injustice  and  crime,  than  this  chosen  people  of 
Yahveh  after  their  exodus  from  Egypt  and  during 
their  invasion  of  Canaan.  The  uncertainty  that  still 
exists  with  regard  to  the  dates  to  which  the  com- 
position of  the  several  books  of  the  Pentateuch 
must  be  assigned,  prevents  a  too  close  insistence  on 
special  passages  as  conclusive  proof   of    the   moral 


HEBREW   MORALITY.  9 

condition  of  the  tribes  in  this  their  nomadic  and  free- 
booting  period.  The  complicated  ceremonial  insti- 
tutions (given  in  Leviticus,  Numbers,  and  Deuter- 
onomy) are,  for  example,  probably  almost  entirely 
the  work  of  a  far  later  age ;  it  is  now  believed  that 
they  were  partly  composed  about  600  B.  c,  under 
the  superintendence  of  Jeremiah,  and  partly  some 
century  and  a  half  afterwards  under  Ezra  the  scribe. 
But  the  historical  portions,  and  the  simpler  laws  and 
customs  strictly  in  accordance  with  a  wandering  life, 
nv'ere  in  all  probability  taken  from  oral  traditions,  and 
perhaps  from  older  writings  now  no  longer  in  exist- 
ence, and  are  therefore  of  considerable  value  in 
affording  really  trustworthy  indications  of  the  moral 
condition  and  ideas  of  the  Israelites  before  the  period 
of  the  Kings.  Taking  the  most  likely  estimate  of 
their  authenticity,  we  may  accept  such  parts  of  the 
Pentateuch  as  dating  from  about  the  time  of  Samuel, 
or  possibly  even  earlier. 

On  examining  these  histories,  it  is  only  very  occa- 
sionally that  we  can  find  anything  at  all  implying  ad- 
vanced moral  ideas:  the  six  ethical  commands  in  the 
Decalogue,  for  instance,  have  always  been  practically 
in  force,  except  in  the  case  of  the  very  lowest  sav- 
ages ;  and  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that,  with  the 
Israelites,  they  were  merely  national  in  their  applica- 
tion. If  we  study  the  existing  accounts,  not  by  the 
antiquated  methods  of  a  too  respectful  credulity,  but 


lO  THE   DEVELOPMENT  OF 

rather  as  we  do  the  information  we  now  possess  of 
other  Eastern  nationalities,  it  will  soon  appear  what 
a  very  favorable  view  has  been  taken  of  the  morality 
and  religion  of  the  Twelve  Tribes.  We  find,  to  make 
a  beginning,  that  the  right  of  Vendetta,  or  blood- 
revenge,  was  clearly  sanctioned  : — 

"And  surely  your  blood  of  your  lives  will  I  re- 
quire ;  at  the  hand  of  every  wild  beast  will  I  require 
it,  and  at  the  hand  of  man  ;  at  the  hand  of  every 
man's  brother  will  I  require  the  life  of  man.  Whoso 
sheddeth  man's  blood,  by  man  shall  his  blood  be 
shed  "  (Gen.  ix.  5).  And  again,  concerning  acciden- 
tal homicide  : — 

"  He  shall  f^ee  unto  one  of  those  cities,  and  live  : 
lest  the  avenger  of  the  blood  pursue  the  manslayer, 
while  his  heart  is  hot,  and  overtake  him,  because  the 
way  is  long,  and  slay  him  ;  whereas  he  was  not  worthy 
of  death,  inasmuch  as  he  hated  him  not  in  time 
past  '  (Deut.  xix.  6). 

It  should  be  noted,  however,  that  this  is  a  mitigated 
form  of  the  Vendetta  ;  there  is  no  mention  here  of  a 
family  responsibility — namely,  that  in  the  event  of 
the  murderer  himself  escaping,  all  his  relations  be- 
came responsible  for  his  act,  and  any  one  of  them 
was  liable  to  be  killed  in  return.  The  rationale  of 
this  primitive  law  is  plain  enough :  it  is  simply  the 
legal  utilization  of  the  common  desire  for  revenge^ 
as  a  means  of  deterring  men  from  murder.     Espec- 


HEBREW   MORALITV.  II 

ially  conducive  to  this  purpose  would  it  be,  where  it 
was  to  the  interest  of  the  whole  family  that  none  of 
its  members  should  commit  this  crime, — or  as  Mr. 
Tylor  strikingly  puts  the  point :  "  Among  all  savages 
and  barbarians,  the  avenger  of  blood,  little  as  he 
thinks  it  himself  in  his  wild  fury,  is  doing  his  part 
towards  saving  his  people  from  perishing  by  deeds 
of  blood." 

A  corresponding  piece  of  justice,  desirable  from  a 
like  savage  point  of  view,  is  to  be  found  in  the  lex 
talionis,  or  law  of  similar  retaliation,  which  is  no  less 
distinctly  laid  down  : — 

"  If  a  man  cause  a  blemish  in  his  neighbor;  as  he 
hath  done,  so  shall  it  be  done  to  him  ;  hurt  for  hurt, 
eye  for  eye,  tooth  for  tooth  :  as  he  hath  caused  a 
blemish  in  a  man,  so  shall  it  be  done  to  him  again  " 
(Lev.  xxiv.  19;  compare  Exod.  xxi.  24,  25). 

"  Thine  eye  shall  not  pity  ;  but  life  shall  go  for 
life,  eye  for  eye,  tooth  for  tooth,  hand  for  hand,  foot 
for  foot  "  (Deut.  xix.  21). 

In  both  the  above  customs  we  should  not  fail  to 
observe  that  no  question  of  abstract  principle  is 
raised  :  their  morality  is  apparently  that  of  mere  ex- 
pediency :  if  men  kill  or  maim  members  of  the  same 
tribe  or  federation,  such  acts  diminish  the  strength 
of  the  community,  and  must  therefore  be  repressed 
under  stern  penalties.  Even  the  Decalogue  com- 
mand, "Thou  shalt  not  kill,"  cannot  be  understood 


12  THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF 

as  condemning  manslaughter  in  the  abstract ;  it  was 
perfectly  allowable,  ev^en  admirable,  to  kill  men  by 
way  of  punishment,  sacrifice,  revenge,  or  (in  the  case 
of  foreigners)  whenever  no  treaty  had  been  made : 
but  absolutely  indiscriminate  murder  is  of  necessity 
forbidden,  or  no  society  at  all  could  exist  under  the 
general  lawlessness  that  would  ensue.  So  long,  how- 
ever, as  pitiless  warfare  with  the  neighboring  tribes 
was  an  essential  part  of  the  national  existence,  the 
sacredness  of  human  life  could  not  be  insisted  on  as 
a  general  principle :  their  own  safety  demanded  a 
certain  recklessness  inconsistent  with  any  such  doc- 
trine. The  punishment  of  persistent  filial  disobedi- 
ence by  the  cruel  death  of  stoning  (Deut.  xxi.  18-21) 
is  another  example  of  a  law  tending  to  increased  tribal 
unity  and  strength  ;  obedience  being  a  valuable  mili- 
tary virtue,  and  the  early  inculcation  of  it  therefore 
necessary.  And  to  a  similar  motive  (that,  namely, 
of  getting  rid  of  a  source  of  weakness)  we  may  ascribe 
the  law  respecting  the  mutilated  being  cut  off  from 
the  congregation  (Deut,  xxiii.  i) :  a  fair  parallel  to 
the  summary  disposal  of  weakly  children  by  exposure, 
so  common  in  the  early  days  of  Sparta,  Rome,  and 
other  warlike  states.  Here,  again,  no  question  of 
principle  is  raised  :  what  we  see  is  simply  a  merciless 
process  of  selection  at  work.  Moreover,  it  being  in 
strict  accordance  with  this  savage  patriotism,  we 
really  need  not  be  surprised  to  find,  nor  at  any  pains 


HEBREW    MORALITY.  1 3 

to  explain,  in  the  often-quoted  case  of  Jael  and  Sisera, 
a  gross  instance  of  treachery  and  disregard  for  the 
sacred  laws  of  hospitality  meeting  with  unbounded 
praise,  solely  because  the  murder  was  so  greatly  to 
the  national  advantage. 

As' for  the  regulations  with  regard  to  injuries  done 
by  cattle,  and  their  compensation  (see  Exod.  xxi. 
28-36),  as  has  been  forcibly  said,  "  they  remind  us 
more  of  the  ingenuity  of  a  Kaffir  chief  than  of  a 
divine  lawgiver."  We  are  here  clearly  in  the  age  of 
what  may  be  roughly  classed  as  the  property  stage  in 
moral  progress  :  all  the  belongings — wives,  children, 
cattle,  and  so  on — of  other  members  of  the  same  fed- 
eration must  be  respected,  and  every  infringement  of 
individual  rights  in  these  matters  be  duly  compen- 
sated. In  certain  extreme  cases,  rather  capriciously 
selected  however,  death  or  other  severe  punishment 
was  inflicted  ;  but  a  payment  in  money  or  cattle 
would  meet  most  contingencies. 

Some  of  their  slavery  laws  are  no  less  instructive : 
we  learn,  in  Exod.  xxi.  20,  et  seg.,  that  the  fact  of  a 
slave's  surviving  his  or  her  master's  cruel  treatment 
was  accepted  as  proof  that  actual  murder  was  not 
intended  :  mere  torture  or  maiming  went  for  nothing  : 
and  if  the  slave  died  afterwards,  the  pecuniary  loss 
was  considered  a  sufficient  punishment.  It  may  be 
noticed  also  (see  Exod.  xxi.  2-6)  that  an  Israelite 
slave,  married  in  slavery,  could  claim  his  own  liberty 


14  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OT 

after  six  years  of  service ;  but  the  law  ordained  that 
his  wife  and  children  should  still  remain  slaves,  with 
the  obvious  purpose  of  inducing  the  unhappy  wretch 
to  renounce  his  freedom,  in  order  to  remain  with  those 
he  loved.  From  the  many  laws  directed  against  all 
manner  of  unnatural  crimes,  we  may  draw  furthef  con- 
clusions as  to  certain  prevailing  habits  and  customs  ; 
and  the  frequent  statement  that  the  Tribes  easily 
lapsed  into  worship  of  '*  the  other  Elohim  of  the 
Elohim  of  the  people  that  were  round  about  them  " 
(Judg.  ii.  12,  17,  19;  iii.  6,  7;  vi.  10,  25-32)  implies 
a  natural  readiness  to  adopt  the  various  bloody  and 
lascivious  rites  that  accompanied  the  Baal  worship 
prevalent  in  those  districts.  In  the  customs  of 
concubinage  and  polygamy  we  find  other  indications 
of  their  moral  state  ;  nor  can  any  one  fail  to  appre- 
ciate the  motives  which  prompted  them  on  occasions 
(see  Num.  xxxi.  17,  18,  40,  and  Deut.  xxi.  10-14), 
after  a  wholesale  butchery  of  a  Canaanite  tribe,  to 
keep  alive  the  young  virgins,  handing  over  a  small 
percentage  to  the  priests  as  their  just  perquisites. 

Human  sacrifices  were  common  enough  even  at 
a  much  later  period :  witness  David's  giving  up 
Saul's  seven  sons  to  the  Gibeonites,  that  they  might 
be  impaled  on  Gibeah  before  Yahveh  (2  Sam.  xxi. 
1-9),  which  was  done  to  remove  a  famine  from  the 
land.  The  practice  of  burning  children  to  death  in 
honor   of  various    deities    is    also  frequently  men- 


HEBREW    MORALITY.  1 5 

tioned,  either  as  actually  occurring,  or  as  a  possible 
contingency,  later  still  (see  2  Kings  xvi.  3  ;  xxi.  6; 
xvii.  17;  Jer.  vii.  31;  xix.  5;  Ezek.  xvi.  20,  21.; 
xxiii.  39 ;  Ps.  cvi.  37,  38 ;  Mic.  vi.  7).  But  such 
customs,  of  course,  would  naturally  be  more  pre- 
valent at  an  earlier  date,  especially  if  it  was  from 
the  Canaanites,  as  is  very  possible,  that  the  Israelites 
first  learnt  them.  Moreover,  whenever  related,  these 
acts  are  usually  told  in  terms  of  grave  respect,  and 
even  admiration  ;  as  when  Jephthah  fulfilled  his  rash 
vow  by  making  a  burnt  offering  of  his  unfortunate 
daughter;  or  when  the  narrator  of  the  legends 
respecting  the  supposed  tribal  ancestor  Abraham 
speaks  of  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac  as  suggested  by 
his  Elohim,  and  accepted  by  the  patriarch  as  a 
pious  duty,  a  proof  of  trust  and  obedience.  The 
orthodox  defence  of  the  morality  of  this  story  may 
be  quoted  as  an  instance  of  almost  inconceivable, 
unless  politic,  dulness  in  missing  the  chief  point  at 
issue :  it  is  said  the  whole  thing  was  really  done  by 
God  to  try  Abraham ;  and  this  is  supposed  to  close 
all  further  discussion,  by  throwing  an  entirely  satis- 
factory light  on  the  matter.  But  what  was  the 
result  of  this  supposed  test,  if  not  to  show  that  the 
patriarch  thought  such  an  act  right  and  dutiful,  and 
what  the  Elohim  could  very  reasonably  demand  of 
his  servant  ? 

It  would  seem  in  a  high  degree  probable  that  the 


l6  THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF 

original  barbarous  law  of  the  Tribes  (at  all  events 
after  their  arrival  in  Canaan)  was  that  all  first-borns, 
human  as  well  as  animal,  were  to  be  sacrificed  to 
Yahveh.  "  The  first-born  of  thine  offspring  shalt 
thou  give  unto  me.  Likewise  shalt  thou  do  with 
thine  oxen,  and  with  thy  sheep  ;  seven  days  it  shall 
be  with  its  dam ;  on  the  eighth  day  thou  shalt  give 
it  to  me"  (Exod.  xxii.  29).  Afterwards  certain 
kinds,  "  the  firstling  of  an  ass,"  for  instance  (Exod. 
xxxiv.  20;  Num.  xviii.  15,  16),  might  be  redeemed; 
and,  naturally,  children  would  be  considered  redeem- 
able as  well.  Probably  the  rite  of  circumcision,  also 
practised  on  the  eighth  day  after  birth,  was  con- 
nected with  the  custom  (see  particularly  Exod.  iv. 
24-26 ;  where,  too,  the  idea  of  propitiation  is  dis- 
tinctly marked),  the  substitution  of  a  part  for  a  whole 
in  an  offering  being  very  common  in  ancient  times. 
(See  Spencer's  "  Ceremonial  Institutions,"  chap.  iii. 
Mutilations,  esp.  pp.  66,  67  ;  also  Tylor's  "  Primitive 
Culture,"  vol.  ii.  p.  363,  ct  scg.) 

But  it  is  in  their  treatment  of  the  unhappy  races 
whom  they  conquered  that  we  get  our  plainest 
glimpses  into  the  character  of  these  brave,  unscru- 
pulous, fanatical  barbarians.  Look  at  those  short 
accounts  of  wholesale  murder  in  Num.  xxxi.  9,  lO, 
17,18;  Josh.  vi.  21;  viii.  24;  x.  30,  &c.  :  "And  they 
utterly  destroyed  all  that  was  in  the  city,  both  man 
and  woman,  both  young  and  old,  and  ox,  and  sheep, 


HEBREW   MORALITY.  1/ 

and  ass,  with  the  edge  of  the  sword."  The  business- 
like brevity  of  such  reports  prevents  our  inexpe- 
rienced minds  from  realizing  the  awful  horrors,  the 
agony  and  sufferings  that  they  imply;  we  pass 
hghtly  over  them  under  the  softening  influences  of 
the  lapse  of  so  many  centuries,  and  fail  to  see  that 
these  few  words  really  describe  scenes  of  devilish 
butchery  as  horrible  as  anything  the  world's  history 
has  to  show.  It  is  not  a  pleasant  picture  for  the 
imagination  to  dwell  upon,  the  thought  of  those 
frenzied,  brutal  warriors  stabbing  and  slashing  to 
death  men,  women,  and  children,  by  thousands — and 
then,  when  the  last  Syrian  baby  lies  dead,  dropping 
their  axes  and  swords  to  sing  the  praises  of  Yahveh, 
God  of  Battles,  for  whose  glory,  and  at  whose  bid- 
ding, the  ghastly  work  has  been  done. 

It  has  been  necessary  to  draw  up  this  indictment 
against  the  early  Israelites  at  some  length,  and  with 
several  disagreeable  details ;  for,  partly  owing  to  a 
thoughtless  familiarity  with  the  Old  Testament  writ- 
ings, but  still  more  to  the  general  inaccuracy  of 
orthodoxy,  we  are  too  apt  to  regard  these  Tribes  as 
moral  and  religious  prodigies  ;  and  hence,  from  not 
fairly  appreciating  their  historical  starting-point,  we 
lose  sight  of  the  true  nature  and  causes  of  the  pro- 
gress they  afterwards  made.  As  yet  we  are  still  in 
the  period  when — to  sum  up  in  the  words  of  Mr. 
Spencer — "  The  sentiments  of  right  and  duty,  so  far 


I8  THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF 

as  they  have  become  developed,  refer  mainly  if  not 
wholly  to  divine  commands  and  interdicts,  and  have 
little  reference  to  the  natures  of  the  acts  commanded 
or  interdicted.  In  the  intended  offering  up  of  Isaac, 
in  the  sacrifice  of  Jephthah's  daughter,  and  in  the 
hewing  to  pieces  of  Agag,  as  much  as  in  the  countless 
atrocities  committed  from  religious  motives  by  early 
historic  races  in  general,  we  see  that  the  morality  and 
immorality  of  actions,  as  we  understand  them,  are  at 
first  unrecognized,  and  that  the  feelings,  chiefly  of 
dread,  which  serve  in  place  of  them,  are  feelings  felt 
towards  the  unseen  beings  supposed  to  issue  com- 
mands and  interdicts"  ("  Psychology,"  vol.  ii.  p. 
6oi.)  

Naturally,  however,  when  the  tribes  became  a 
nation  with  an  established  monarchy,  and  as  they 
passed  from  a  life  of  continual  conflict  to  one  more 
settled  and  peaceful,  a  gradual  improvement  took 
place  in  their  moral  ideas.  The  following  sketch  of 
a  perfectly  upright  man,  according  to  the  best  prin- 
ciples of  the  early  regal  period,  will  serve  as  a  suffi- 
cient indication  of  this  advance ;  it  is  found  in  the 
15th  Psalm: — 

"  Yahveh,  who  may  sojourn  in  thy  tabernacle  ? 
Who  may  dwell  on  thy  holy  mountain  ? 
He  that  walketh  perfectly,  and  worketh  righteousness, 
And  speaketh  truth  in  his  heart ; 
That  hath  not  slandered  with  his  tongue. 
Hath  done  no  evil  to  his  friend. 


HEBREW   MORALITY.  19 

Nor  taken  up  a  reproach  against  his  neighbor ; 

In  whose  eyes  a  vile  person  is  contemned. 

But  he  honoreth  them  that  fear  Yahveh  ; 

Who  sweareth  to  his  own  hurt,  and  changeth  not ; 

Who  hath  not  put  out  his  money  to  usury. 

Nor  taken  a  reward  against  the  innocent. 

He  that  doeth  these  things  shall  never  be  moved." 

What  is  most  apparent  in  this  description  is  the 
brave  manHness  of  the  character  depicted :  he  des- 
pises all  fraud,  falsehood,  and  meanness — even  the 
taking  interest  for  his  loans  ;  he  practises  a  rough, 
negative  sort  of  humanity,  so  far  as  his  own  tribe  is 
concerned,  and  his  esteem  is  strictly  kept  for  the 
faithful  worshippers  of  his  country's  God.  It  is  the 
picture  of  an  ancient  knight,  "  sans  peur  et  sans  re- 
proche,"  a  suitable  ideal  for  the  warrior  king  who 
probably  wrote  the  poem.  The  teaching  of  the 
Book  of  Proverbs  also  seldom  rises  above  a  purely 
prudential  morality ;  to  get  wisdom  and  understand- 
ing, to  be  temperate  and  industrious — that  practi- 
cally is  the  sum  of  its  advice.  Take,  for  instance, 
the  famous  definition  of  a  "  virtuous  woman  "  in  the 
last  chapter ;  is  she  not  just  a  hard-working,  kindly 
housewife,  and  nothing  more  ? 


But  it  is  when  we  turn  to  the  Sayings  of  the  Proph- 
ets, of  those  especially  who  lived  some  few  centu- 
ries after  David's  time — or  (say)  between  800  and 
500  B.C. — that  we  come  upon  the  real  foundation  of 


20  THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF 

Israel's  pre-eminence  in  religious  and  moral  thought. 
These  men  were  the  great  poets,  patriots,  and  philo- 
sophers of  their  country.  Under  their  passionate 
teaching  the  old  savage  notions  of  a  tribal  God  of 
Battles  gave  place  to  gentler  and  more  liberal  ideas 
of  the  Deity,  who  is  no  longer  represented  as  ready 
to  be  bribed  into  favor  by  sacrifices  and  offerings, 
but  as  one  who  loves  mercy,  justice,  charity,  and 
humility,  and  will  only  accept  the  righteousness  of 
the  heart,  hating  mere  lip-service  and  formalism. 
We  have,  unfortunately,  been  too  much  in  the  habit 
of  regarding  the  prophets  chiefly  as  "  foretellers  "  ; 
whereas  there  is  no  single  instance  of  any  of  the 
Hebrew  names  for  this  class  conveying  the  slightest 
reference  to  prediction.  "  One  who  pours  forth  " 
(literally,  "  bubbles  up  ")  and  "  One  who  sees  "  are 
two  of  the  most  usual  terms  applied  to  them.  They 
are  spoken  of  by  Jerome  as  the  originators  of  the 
monastic  system  ;  he  makes  mention,  for  instance,  of 
"  our  founder  Elias,  our  Elisha,  and  our  leaders  the 
sons  of  the  prophets  "  ;  and  again  says,  "  The  sons 
of  the  prophets  whom  we  read  of  as  monks  in  the 
Old  Testament  built  themselves  cells  by  the  Jordan, 
away  from  the  crowds  of  cities,  and  lived  upon  barley 
bread  and  herbs,  having  neither  wives  nor  worldly 
riches."  But  this,  though  reasonable  enough  in  the 
mouth  of  Jerome,  is  not  strictly  accurate ;  for  the 
first  home   of  the    Religion  of  Solitude  was  India, 


HEBREW   MORALITY.  21 

where,  as  early  as  2000  B.  c,  the  lonely  life  of  asceti- 
cism and  meditation  was  an  established  custom.  Its 
leading  ideas  may  be  found  both  in  the  Vedas  and 
in  the  Laws  of  Menu,  where  he  who  desired  to  purify 
himself  and  become  a  saint  was  bidden  to  "  seclude 
himself  from  the  world,  and  gain  the  favor  of  the 
gods  by  fasting,  subduing  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  and 
mortifying  the  senses."  It  is,  of  course,  quite  con- 
ceivable that  the  Syrian  development  of  the  same 
ideas  was  an  independent  one  ;  indeed,,  it  is  easy 
enough  to  believe  that  it  was  so,  when  we  consider 
that  the  external  signs  of  this  type  of  fanaticism,  the 
seeing  of  visions  and  hearing  of  spirit  voices — com- 
munion, to  use  the  common  term — are  very  ordinary 
indications  of  an  unhealthy,  deranged  mental  state  ; 
such,  too,  as  are  necessarily  produced  by  influences 
Hke  continued  solitude,  abstinence  from  proper  food, 
indulgence  in  gloomy  forebodings,  and  an  abnormal 
sense  of  sinfulness.  The  effects  may  be  traced  to 
purely  physical  causes,  and  could  be  created  at  will 
in  any  favorable  environment.  Thus  the  climate  of 
Syria,  Egypt,  and  many  parts  of  India  was  singularly 
adapted  to  an  ascetic,  homeless  life  in  the  desert  or 
the  jungle,  and  these  three  countries  have  conse- 
quently been  the  scenes  of  the  most  remarkable 
results  of  religious  and  moral  monomania  the  world 
has  ever  witnessed. 

But  to  return  to  the   Hebrew   Prophets.     These 


22  THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF 

first  sprang  into  importance  about  the  time  of 
Samuel,  when  a  deep  spiritual  and  moral  decline  had 
come  over  the  priestly  order.  Samuel  himself 
endeavored  to  utilize  and  introduce  some  method 
into  this  wild  and  fanatical  power  by  founding  col- 
leges of  the  prophets  (see  i  Sam.  xix.  19  ;  and  cf. 
2  Kings  ii.  3,  5  ;  ix.  38  ;  vi.  i) ;  and  very  probably 
many  of  those  with  whose  lives  or  writings  we  are 
acquainted  belonged  to  some  such  schools  ;  Amos, 
however  (see  vii.  14),  and  Elisha  (see  i  Kings  xix. 
19)  are  examples  to  the  contrary. 

These  men,  then,  were  political,  moral,  and  reli- 
gious teachers,  regarding  themselves  as  the  divinely 
chosen  spokesmen  of  the  invisible  Yahveh  by  whom 
their  utterances  were  inspired.  Their  position,  from 
a  psychological  point  of  view,  is  not  difficult  to  com- 
prehend :  they  were,  many  of  them,  possessed  of  real 
genius,  of  lofty  energy  and  enthusiasm,  but  with 
minds  in  abnormal  tension,  owing  to  the  strange, 
ascetic  lives  they  led,  full  of  this  mystic  communion 
and  meditation.  Hence  they  came  to  believe  in 
thernselves  as  the  recipients  of  divine  messages — 
solemn  warnings  from  Yahveh  to  their  loved  but 
erring  country ;  and  their  reason  for  such  belief  was 
simply  the  overpowering  strength  of  their  convic- 
tions. As  Maimonides  (the  great  Spanish  Jew  and 
scholar  of  the  twelfth  century,  known  amongst  his 
countrymen   as   "  the   Second    Moses ")    somewhat 


HEBREW    MORALITY.  23 

naively  remarks,  "  All  prophecy  makes  itself  known 
to  the  prophet  that  it  is  prophecy  indeed  by  the 
strength  and  vigor  of  the  perception,  so  that  his  mind 
is  freed  from  all  scruple  about  it."  (The  reader  will 
do  well  also  to  consult  Kuenen,  "  Religion  of  Israel," 
vol,  i.  chap.  iiL  p.  188,  et  seq.,  on  this  subject.)  By 
their  fellow-countrymen  "  all  the  prophets  were,  in 
theory,  regarded  as  divinely  commissioned  ;  but  they 
were,  in  practice,  obeyed  only  by  those  who  agreed 
with  them  in  tendency."  For  opposition  to  their 
teaching  "  was  far  from  being  rare.  Though  they 
were  reverenced,  none  of  them  were  implicitly 
obeyed ;  they  were  freely  judged,  were  sometimes 
withstood  to  the  face,  and  even  subjected  to  ill- 
treatment.  The  contradiction  which  they  experi- 
enced was  inevitable,  for  the  opposition  between  dif- 
ferent members  of  their  body  continued  at  least  from 
the  eighth  century  B.C.  downwards.  The  people 
could  not  simply  obey,  even  if  they  had  so  wished. 
They  had  to  make  a  choice — to  accept  the  one 
prophet  and  reject  the  other."  (See  Kuenen,  "  The 
Prophets  and  Prophecy  in  Israel "  ;  Introduction  by 
Dr.  Muir,  xiii.) 

Such  predictions  as  they  uttered  fall  naturally 
under  the  headings  of  (i)  warnings  of  sufferings  to 
come,  if  the  people  persevered  in  immorality  and 
infidelity  to  Yahveh ;  and  (2)  indefinite  promises  of 
future  happiness  and  a  divine  reign,  if  they  would 


24  THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF 

only  repent  of  their  evil  ways.     Both  these  charac- 
teristics may  be  found  in  Isaiah  i.  19: — 

"  If  ye  be  willing  and  obedient, 
Ye  shall  consume  the  good  of  the  land. 
But  if  ye  refuse  and  be  rebellious, 
The  sword  shall  consume  you  ; 
For  the  mouth  of  Yahveh  hath  said  it." 

As  indicating  the  perfectly  natural,  comprehensible 
character  of  these  warnings,  it  should  be  noticed  that 
they  invariably  referred  simply  to  the  national  con- 
duct and  condition  at  the  time  being;  also  that  their 
authors  believed  in  an  immediate  divine  retribution, 
and  that  the  neighboring  warlike  nations — the 
Assyrians,-  Babylonians,  Moabites,  Egyptians,  etc. — 
would  be  employed  by  the  Deity  for  the  infliction  of 
his  vengeance.  This  being  their  unvarying  creed,  its 
practical  application  was  a  comparatively  easy  mat- 
ter; and  the -political  horizon  of  the  moment  sup- 
plied the  requisite  alarming  details,  which  would 
thus  appeal  with  all  the  force  of  extreme  probability 
to  the  people.  So,  for  example;  Assyria  is  the 
object  of  dread  held  up  to  the  hearers  of  Amos, 
Hosea,  and  Isaiah  ;  and  the  Chaldeans  to  the  later 
generations  addressed  by  Jeremiah  or  Ezekiel. 

But  it  is  not  in  these — generally  unfulfilled — 
political  forebodings  (see  Kuenen,  Introduction, 
xv.-xxi.,  and  chapters  v.-vii.),  nor  in  futile  rhapsodies 
about  an  impossible  millennium,  nor  in  vague  apo- 


HEBREW    MORALITY.  2$ 

calypses  of  unearthly  regions  and  personalities,  that 
the  true  beauty  and  value  of  these  writings  consist ; 
the  great  merit  of  their  authors  lies  in  their  "  heart- 
felt trust  in  God  and  moral  earnestness,"  inspired  by 
which  they  succeeded  in  placing  the  leading  ethical 
and  religious  ideas  of  Israel  on  a  far  higher  level  than 
had  been  hitherto  occupied,  as  the  following  typical 
extracts  from  their  works  will  show  quite  sufificiently 
for  our  present  purpose.  (Cf.  Kuenen,  Introduction, 
xxxvii.-xl.) 

"  I  hate,  I  despise  your  feasts  ; 
I  have  no  delight  in  your  solemn  assemblies. 
When  ye  offer  me  burnt  offerings  and  flower  offerings, 
I  will  not  accept  them.     .     .     . 
Let  justice  flow  forth  as  waters. 
And  righteousness  as  a  mighty  stream." 

Amos  V.  21,  22,  24;   ct'rc.  800  B.C. 

"  Cease  to  do  evil. 
Learn  to  do  well ; 

Seek  justice  ;  relieve  the  oppressed  ; 
Defend  the  fatherless  ;  plead  for  the  widow." 

/sa.  i.  17  ;  arc,  760  B.  C 

"  Then  shall  justice  dwell  in  the  wilderness. 
And  righteousness  in  the  fruitful  field ; 
And  the  effect  of  righteousness  shall  be  peace. 
And  the  fruit  of  righteousness  quiet  and  security  for  ever.  " 

/sa.  xxxii.  16,  17. 

"  He  hath  showed  thee,  O  man,  what  is  good ; 
What  doth  Yahveh  require  of  thee. 
But  to  do  justly,  and  to  love  mercy, 
And  to  walk  humbly  before  thy  God  ?  " 

Mkah  vi.  8 ;  circ.  720  B.C. 


26  THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF 

"  Rend  your  hearts  and  not  your  garment. 
And  turn  to  Yahveh  your  God, 
For  he  is  gracious  and  merciful, 
Slow  to  anger  and  of  great  kindness.  " 

Joelxi.  13;  circ.  600  B.C. 

"  If  ye  oppress  not  the  stranger,  the  fatherless,  and  the  widow. 
And  shed  not  innocent  blood  in  this  place. 
And  go  not  after  other  Gods  to  your  own  hurt, 
Then  will  I  cause  you  to  dwell  in  this  place. 
In  the  land  which  I  gave  to  your  fathers, 
For  ever  and  ever. " 

Jer.  vii.  6,  7  ;  circ.  600  B.C. 

"  I  am  Yahveh,  who  exercise  loving-kindness. 
Justice  and  righteousness  upon  the  earth ; 
For  in  these  do  I  delight,  saith  Yahveh. " 

Jer.  ix.  24. 

"  Thus  saith  Yahveh  : 
Do  justice  and  righteousness  ; 

Deliver  the  spoiled  out  of  the  hand  of  the  oppressor; 
To  the  stranger,  the  fatherless,  and  the  widow 
Do  no  wrong,  do  no  violence, 
And  shed  no  innocent  blood  in  this  place.  " 

Jer.  xxii.  3. 

"Yahveh  is  good  to  them  that  trust  in  him,  to  the  soul  that 

seeketh  him. 
It  is  good  that  a  man  hope,  and  quietly  wait  for  salvation  from 

Yahveh. 
It  is  good  for  a  man  that  he  bear  the  yoke  in  his  youth ; 
That  he  sit  alone  and  keep  silence,  since  he  layeth  it  upon  him  ; 
That  he  put  his  mouth  in  the  dust,  saying.  Perhaps  there  may 

be  hope ! 
That  he  offer  his  cheek  to  the  smiter  ;  that  he  be  filled  with 

reproach.  "  Lam.  iii.  25-30. 


HEBREW    MORALITY.  2J 

'  Is  this  the  fast  that  I  approve, 
A  day  for  a  man  to  afflict  his  soul  ? 
Is  it  that  he  should  bow  down  his  head  like  a  bulrush, 
And  lie  down  in  sack-cloth  and  ashes  ? 
Wilt  thou  call  this  a  fast, 
And  a  day  acceptable  to  Yahveh  ? 
Is  not  this  the  fast  that  I  approve, 
To  loose  the  band  of  wickedness, 
To  undo  the  heavy  burdens. 
To  let  the  oppressed  go  free, 
And  to  break  in  pieces  every  yoke  ? 
Is  it  not  to  break  thy  bread  to  the  hungry. 
And  to  bring  the  poor,  that  are  cast  out,  to  thy  house  ? 
When  thou  seest  the  naked  that  thou  clothe  him. 
And  that  thou  hide  not  thyself  from  thine  own  flesh  ? 
Then  shall  thy  light  break  forth  like  the  morning. 
And  thy  health  shall  spring  forth  speedily ; 
Thy  salvation  shall  go  before  thee, 
And  the  glory  of  Yahveh  shall  bring  up  thy  rear." 

T/ie  Second  Isaiah,  Iviii.  5-8  ;  circ.  540  B.C. 


The  object  of  thus  briefly  noting  the  moral  pro- 
gress of  Israel — marking  its  gradual,  natural  rate — 
is  to  assist  the  reader  in  getting  rid  of  the  mislead- 
ing conceptions  which  have  been  introduced  into 
this  question  by  the  assumption  of  a  non-natural 
revelation,  distinguishing  the  development  of  the 
Hebrew  religion  from  that  of  all  others  in  the  world. 
To  which  assumption  the  most  satisfactory  answer  is 
contained  in  the  historical  fact  that  similar  claims 
were  made  for  several  other  ancient  religions,  and 
with  much  the  same  justification,  if  we  may  judge 
by  results — the  morality  developed  by  each  of  them 


28  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF 

being  equally  admirable,  and  even,  as  a  rule,  iden- 
tical. This  point  we  will  now  consider  at  some 
length,  having  arrived  at  the  period  of  the  Captivity 
in  Babylon,  which  brought  the  Jews  into  contact 
(and  kept  them  so  for  several  generations)  with 
another  of  the  great  religions  of  Asia — namely, 
Mithraism  or  Mazdeism. 

The  founder — or  rather,  we  should  say,  the  re- 
former and  part-founder — of  this  religion  was  Zara- 
thustra  (less  correctly  known  as  Zoroaster),  who 
flourished  early  in  the  sixth  century  B.C.  The  lead- 
ing idea  of  his  moral  doctrine  was  the  virtue  of 
Purity — in  thought,  word,  and  deed.  The  body,  he 
taught,  was  the  source  of  all  impurity  and  degra- 
dation to  the  soul;  hence  the  necessity  for  a  new 
birth,  to  be  gained  by  mortification  of  the  flesh,  by 
self-abnegation,  by  acts  of  charity,  by  prayer  and 
meditation.  Zarathustra  found  his  countrymen 
worshippers  of  the  Devas,  or  Luminous  Ones — prac- 
tically a  nature-worship  of  the  sun,  fire,  and  air ;  and 
his  great  purpose  was  to  restore  in  Iran  the  worship 
of  the  one  God,  which  he  believed  to  have  been  the 
religion  of  his  forefathers;  whilst  the  Devas,  he 
taught,  were  to  be  looked  upon  as  demons. 

This  doctrine  was  spread  over  Media  and  Persia 
by  the  Aryan  tribes  after  their  conquest  under  Cyrus 
of  the  Medo-Babylonian  monarchy,  about  560  B.C., 
and  became  the  State  religion  of  the  new  Persian 


HEBREW    MORALITY.  29 

empire.  It  was  some  five-and-twenty  years  later 
that  the  decree  was  passed  in  favor  of  the  Jews* 
return  to  their  own  country;  but  not  until  nearly  a 
century  after  this  did  they  cease  to  be  subject  to  the 
Persians,  or,  indeed,  finally  leave  Babylon.  For  a 
discussion  of  the  indebtedness  of  the  Ezraic  Re- 
formation to  the  teaching  of  Zarathustra  we  must 
refer  our  readers  to  Dr.  Kuenen's  **  Religion  of 
Israel,"  vol.  iii.  ch.  ix.  pp.  31-40.  Here  it  must  be 
sufficient  to  notice  that  it  was  from  this  source  that 
later  Judaism  in  all  probability  derived  its  ideas  on 
such  points  as  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  the 
nature  of  good  and  evil,  the  antagonism  between 
matter  and  spirit,  the  need  of  a  second  birth,  and 
some  of  the  higher  ethical  duties.  The  doctrine  of 
the  Sosiosh,  or  Messiah,  is  also  essentially  Mithraic  ; 
he  is  to  awaken  the  dead,  to  restore  life,  and  to  hold 
the  last  judgment.  Mithra  is  the  name  of  this 
mediator  between  God  and  man,  and  he  is  the  third 
person  in  the  Persian  Trinity — Zervana  (the  Eternal) 
and  Ahuramazda  (the  Creator)  completing  the  God- 
head. 

The  account  of  Zarathustra's  mission  is  contained 
in  the  Five  Gathas,  a  part  of  the  Avesta  (Word)  or 
sacred  Canon  of  the  Persians ;  the  following  sketch 
of  it  being  adapted  chiefly  from  an  article  in  the 
•'  Nineteenth  Century  "  by  Dr.  Monier  Williams. 

The  Reformer  began  his  work  by  assembling  his 


30  THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF 

countrymen  before  the  sacred  fire — given  to  him  by- 
God  Himself — and  addressing  them  in  a  remarkable 
speech,  of  which  the  commencement  may  be  sum- 
marized, briefly,  thus : — 

"  I  will  now  tell  you,  who  are  assembled  here,  the 
wise  sayings  of  Mazda,  the  praises  of  Ahura,  the 
sublime  truth  which  I  see  arising  out  of  these  sacred 
flames. 

'•  Contemplate  the  beams  of  fire  with  a  pious 
mind.  Every  one,  both  men  and  women,  ought  to- 
day to  choose  between  the  Deva  and  the  Ahura 
religion. 

"  In  the  beginning  there  was  a  pair  of  twins,  two 
spirits,  each  active :  these  are  the  good  and  the  base 
in  thought,  word,  and  deed.  Choose  one  of  these 
spirits  !     Be  good,  not  base  ! 

"  And  these  two  spirits  created,  one  the  reality, 
the  other  the  non-reality.  To  the  liar  existence  will 
become  bad,  whilst  the  believer  in  the  true  God  en- 
joys prosperity. 

"  Of  these  two  spirits  you  must  choose  one  :  you 
cannot  belong  to  both  of  them. 

"  Thus  let  us  be  such  as  help  the  life  of  the  future. 
The  wise  living  spirits  are  the  greatest  supporters  of 
it.  The  prudent  man  wishes  only  to  be  there  where 
Wisdom  is  at  home." 

The  principal  doctrines  of  Mithraism  may  be  thus 
summed  up : 


HEBREW    MORALITY.  3 1 

1.  Ahuramazda  created  all  things. 

2.  He  only  is  to  be  worshipped  as  the  sole  source 
of  life,  light,  goodness,  and  wisdom. 

3.  The  arch-fiend  (the  original  of  the  Jewish 
Satan,  by  the  way)  is  to  be  execrated  and  fought 
against,  never  to  be  worshipped  or  propitiated. 

4.  The  souls  of  the  pure  will  hereafter  enjoy  ever- 
lasting life :  those  of  the  wicked  will  undergo  ever- 
lasting punishment.  The  bodies  of  men  will  also 
rise  again,  and  be  reunited  to  their  souls. 

5.  The  whole  of  morality  is  comprised  in  six 
words :  good  thoughts,  good  words,  good  deeds. 

6.  A  man's  only  hope  of  salvation  lies  in  his  own 
deeds.  His  future  rewards  will  not  be  according  to 
mere  belief,  but  to  the  perfection  of  his  thoughts, 
words,  and  deeds. 

7.  Man  possesses  free  will :  he  can  choose  whether 
he  will  be  good  or  evil. 

8.  He  will  be  judged  according  to  his  own  works : 
the  soul  that  sinned  will  die,  and  no  sacrifice  or  sub- 
stitute will  be  accepted.  Nor  is  salvation  or 
religious  merit  to  be  won  by  self-mortification. 
(Compare  Ezek.  xviii.) 

9.  God  always  hears  the  prayers  of  the  good. 

10.  There  is  a  dualism  everywhere  in  the  world — 
good  and  evil,  light  and  darkness:  two  spirits  at 
work — the  one  making  life,  the  other  destroying  it. 

Of  which  dualistic  theory  there  is  a  striking  denial, 


32  THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF 

well  worth  noting,  by  the    Second  Isaiah  (see  xlv. 
6,7):- 

"  I  am  Yahveh,  and  none  else. 
I  form  the  light,  and  create  darkness ; 
I  make  peace,  and  create  evil ; 
I,  Yahveh,  do  all  these  things." 

At  the  present  time  there  are  very  few  Parsis — 
the  modern  followers  of  this  ancient  religion — to  be 
found  in  Persia,  whence  they  have  been  driven  by 
Mahommedanism ;  the  great  bulk  of  them — only, 
however,  about  seventy  thousand — now  living  in 
India.  As  the  popular  belief  (a  fallacy,  like  most 
popular  notions  about  the  religions  of  other  people) 
is  that  the  Parsis  are  fire-worshippers,  the  following 
quotation  from  a  school  catechism,  written  half  a  cen- 
tury ago  in  Gujarati,  may  serve  to  correct,  as  well  as 
to  account  for,  the  idea : — "  We  believe  in  the  One 
God  who  created  the  heavens  and  earth,  the  angels, 
sun,  moon,  and  stars,  fire,  water,  and  all  things.  Him 
we  worship,  invoke,  and  adore.  Our  God  has  neither 
face,  nor  form,  nor  fixed  place.  There  is  no  other 
like  Him.  We  cannot  describe  His  glory,  nor  can 
our  minds  comprehend  Him.  He  is  said  to  have  one 
thousand  and  one  names,  but  His  principal  name  is 
Hormazd.  "  The  All-wise  Spirit."  He  is  also  called 
Pak,  "  Holy";  Dadar,  "  Distributor  of  Justice";  Parwa- 
dagar,  "  Provider."  In  worshipping  the  Holy  Hor- 
mazd we  should  turn  towards  some  of  His  creations 


HEBREW  MORALITY.  33 

of  life  and  glory,  such  as  the  sun,  fire,  water,  and  the 
moon.  Our  prophet  Zarathustra  has  taught  us  to 
know  God  as  One,  and  Zarathustra  as  His  prophet ; 
to  believe  in  the  Avesta  ;  to  believe  in  the  goodness 
of  God ;  to  submit  to  His  will  and  obey  His  com- 
mands ;  to  do  good  deeds,  speak  good  words,  and 
have  pure  thoughts ;  to  pray  five  times  a  day  ;  to 
believe  in  the  reckoning  of  justice  on  the  fourth 
morning  after  death  ;  to  hope  for  heaven  and  fear 
hell :  to  believe  in  a  day  of  resurrection." 

It  is  desirable,  for  reasons  that  will  appear  after- 
wards, briefly  to  draw  attention  to  the  main  sanction 
of  Mithraism  ;  the  argument  here,  as  in  all  the  higher 
religions,  being  that  in  the  future  life  the  wicked 
will  undergo  a  most  fearful  punishment,  while  virtue 
will  be  rewarded  with  eternal  happiness — in  other 
words,  an  appeal  is  made  to  a  refined  and  far-seeing 
egoism  ;  but,  as  we  shall  notice  farther  on,  these 
ancient  teachers  were  right  in  thus  regarding  the 
moral  life,  not  as  an  end  in  itself,  but  as  a  means  to 
something  better;  and  politic  in  making  its  object  a 
personal  rather  than  a  general  advantage. 


With  regard  to  Buddhism,  the  other  great  religion 
of  the  East  with  which  we  are  concerned,  it  is  proba- 
ble that  the  Jews  only  became  directly  acquainted 
with  it  some  time  after  the  conquests  of  Alexander 
3 


34  THE   DEVELOPMENT  OF 

the  Great  had  led  to  a  general  intercourse  and  com- 
merce over  the  western  portions  of  Asia  and  Egypt. 
This  was  the  first  important  missionary  religion  of 
the  world  ;  and  after  the  Council  of  Pataliputra  (held 
242  B.C.,  for  the  purpose  of  fixing  the  scriptural 
canon),  missions  were  sent  out  far  and  wide,  not  only 
over  India,  but  beyond  its  borders ;  and  signs  of 
Buddhist  influence  are  not  wanting  in  the  later  moral 
ideas  of  both  Syria  and  Egypt.  The  following 
account  of  Buddha's  life  and  doctrines  will  not  only 
help  to  show  this,  but  should  also  be  carefully  studied 
as  a  development  of  ethics  superior  to  anything  the 
Jews  had  as  yet  reached,  and  entirely  independent 
of  them.  It  is  fortunately  now  no  longer  reasonable 
for  the  believers  in  any  one  creed  to  regard  all  other 
schemes  of  doctrine  than  their  own  as  false,  and  un- 
philosophically  dismiss  them  as  mere  heathenism. 
The  Buddhists  believe  of  Gautama  precisely  what 
the  Christians  do  of  Jesus,  and  on  fairly  similar  evi- 
dence :  that  he  was  miraculously  born  ;  that  he  lived, 
taught,  and  suffered  to  redeem  the  world  from  sin  and 
sorrow ;  that  his  life  was  not  only  one  of  willing  self- 
sacrifice,  but  also  of  perfect  purity  and  sinlessness ; 
that  though  he  might  have  been,  had  he  chosen,  the 
Greatest  King  on  earth,  yet  he  elected 

"  To  tread  its  paths  with  patient,  stainless  feet," 

leading  a  life  of  lowly  suffering,  and  thus  winning 


HEBREW   MORALITY.  35 

for  himself  "  the  majesty  of  faithful  service,"  and  the 
undying  love  and  -gratitude  of  his  fellow-men. 
Hence  he  is  now  worshipped  as  divine,  and  looked  on 
as  the  Refuge  and  Saviour  of  mankind.  More  than 
three  hundred  millions  believe  this  to  be  true  of  the 
Jewish  Prophet  ;  a  far  larger  number  of  the  Indian 
Prince. 

And  this  is  his  story,  very  briefly  told.  About 
the  year  550  B.C.,  was  born  in  the  city  of  Kapilavasta, 
in  Northern  India,  a  young  prince  who  was  named 
Sramana  Gautama.  When  yet  a  mere  child  he  was 
made  extremely  miserable  by  some  few  sights  of  sor- 
row and  suffering  that,  notwithstanding  all  the  king 
his  father's  care,  came  across  his  path ;  but  he  con- 
tinued to  lead  his  royal  life  in  obedience  to  his  fath- 
er's commands  until  he  reached  the  age  of  twenty- 
eight.  And  then  his  great  pity  for  the  world  grew 
too  strong  for  him.  He  left  all  his  grandeur,  he  left 
even  his  wife  and  child  whom  he  dearly  loved,  to 
lead  a  mendicant's  life,  in  the  hope  of  discovering, 
through  prayer,  asceticism,  and  meditation,  the 
means  of  obtaining  spiritual  freedom  and  peace  for 
himself,  and  for  the  world  deliverance  from  evil  and 
misery.  But  he  found  no  help  in  the  extreme  ascet- 
icism practised  by  the  Brahminist  monks — a  truth  he 
afterwards  thus  taught  in  his  first  sermon  :  "  There 
are  two  extremes  which  the  man  who  has  devoted 
himself  to  the  higher  life  ought  not  to  follow — the 


36  THE  DEVELOPMENT   OF 

habitual  practice,  on  the  one  hand,  of  those  things 
whose  attractions  depend  upon  the  passions,  and 
especially  of  sensuality,  a  low  and  pagan  way  of 
seeking  gratification,  unworthy,  unprofitable,  and  fit 
only  for  the  worldly  minded  ;  and  the  habitual  prac- 
tice, on  the  other  hand,  of  asceticism,  which  is  not 
only  painful,  but  as  unworthy  and  unprofitable  as 
the  other." 

After  six  years  spent  in  retreat  and  meditation, 
Gautama  felt  that  his  knowledge  of  truth  was  won ; 
and  he  began  his  long  mission,  teaching,  and  him- 
self practicing  with  perfect  fidelity  all  the  duties 
he  taught.  Amongst  his  earliest  converts  were  his 
wife  and  father.  He  continued  his  work  for  over 
forty  years,  dying  at  length  in  the  arms  of  his  dis- 
ciples, and  comforting  them,  in  their  distress,  with 
calm,  wise  words  of  faith  and  hope,  such  as  can  only 
come  from  the  lips  of  one  who  has  lived  a  pure  life, 
and  dies  in  the  quiet  confidence  of  having  discovered 
its  great  truths.  Some  of  the  stories  related  of  him 
are  very  beautiful,  and  may  be  given  as  interesting 
parallels  to  much  that  was  afterwards  told  of 
Christ. 

"  As  the  Grand  Being  went  forth  by  night  from 
his  father's  palace  to  become  a  devotee,  Mara,  the 
Prince  of  Evil,  trembled,  and  determined  to  prevent 
him.  Descending  from  his  abode,  he  cried.  Lord, 
that  art  capable  of  such  vast  endurance,  go  not  forth 


EtEBfefiW  MORALITY.  37 

to  adopt  a  religious  life,  but  return  to  thy  kingdom, 
and  in  seven  days  thou  shalt  become  an  emperor  of 
the  world,  riding  over  the  four  great  continents. 
Take  heed,  O  Mara,  replied  the  Great  Being,  I  also 
know  that  in  seven  days  I  might  gain  universal 
empire,  but  I  desire  not  such  possessions.  I  know 
that  the  pursuit  of  religion  is  better  than  the  empire 
of  the  world.  You,  thinking  only  of  evil  lusts,  would 
force  me  to  leave  all  beings  without  guide  in  your 
power.     Avaunt !     Get  thou  away  from  me  !  " 

"  One  day,  seeing  a  farmer  at  work,  Gautama 
said,  I,  too,  plough  and  sow,  and  from  my  ploughing 
and  sowing  I  reap  immortal  fruit.  My  field  is 
religion ;  the  weeds  I  pluck  up  are  the  passions  of 
cleaving  to  existence ;  -my  plough  is  wisdom,  my  seed 
purity." 

"  When  a  merchant  who  had  joined  the  band  of 
disciples  was  desirous  of  returning  to  his  own  home, 
to  preach  to  his  relations,  he  came  to  the  Buddha  to 
ask  leave  to  depart.  The  people  of  Sunaparanta, 
said  the  teacher,  are  exceedingly  violent ;  if  they 
revile  you,  what  will  you  do  ?  I  will  Inake  no  reply, 
said  the  disciple.  And  if  they  strike  you  ?  I  will 
not  strike  in  return.  And  if  they  try  to  kill  you  ? 
Death,  said  the  disciple,  repeating  the  lessons  of  the 
master,  is  no  evil  in  itself.  Many  even  desire  it,  to 
escape  from  the  vanities  of  this  life  :  but  I  shall  take 
no  steps  either  to  hasten  or  delay  the  time  of  my 


38  THE  DEVELOPMENT   OF 

departure.     Buddha  was  satisfied,  and  the  merchant 
departed." 

"  When  one  asked  him,  What  must  I  do  to  lay  up 
in  store  future  blessedness  ?  he  replied  : — 

"  Ministering  to  the  worthy,  doing  harm  to  none, 
Always  ready  to  render  reverence  to  whom  it  is  due ; 
Loving  righteousness  and  righteous  conversation. 
Ever  willing  to  listen  to  that  which  may  profit  another ; 
Rejoicing  to  meditate  on  the  true  Law, 
And  to  reflect  on  the  words  of  Divine  Wisdom ; 
Practising  every  kind  of  self-discipline  and  pure  life. 
Always  doing  good  to  those  around  you." 

"  One  day.  King  Prasenagit,  the  protector  of 
Buddha,  called  on  him  to  perform  miracles,  in  order 
to  silence  his  adversaries  the  Brahmans.  Buddha 
consented.  He  performed  the  required  miracles; 
but  he  exclaimed,  Great  King,  I  do  not  teach  the 
law  to  my  disciples,  telling  them.  Go,  ye  saints,  and 
before  the  eyes  of  the  Brahmans  and  householders 
perform,  by  means  of  your  supernatural  powers, 
miracles  greater  than  any  man  can  perform.  I 
tell  them,  when  I  teach  them  the  law.  Live  ye 
saints,  hiding#your  good  works,  and  showing  your 
sins." 

His  parting  words  of  comfort  to  his  disciples 
were : — "  It  may  be,  Ananda,  that  some  of  you  may 
think — the  word  of  the  Teacher  is  ended — we  have 
no  Teacher  more : — but  you  must  not  look  upon  it 
thus.     The  faith  and  the  discipline   preached    and 


HEBREW   MORALITY.  39 

enacted  for  you  by  me,  let  these  be  your  Teacher 
when  I  am  gone." 

Those  whom  Gautama  sent  forth  to  preach  his 
new  gospel  seem  to  have  been  worthy  of  it  and  of 
their  Master:  when  threatened  with  punishment  one 
of  them  calmly  replied,  "  If  the  whole  world,  includ- 
ing the  Deva  heavens,  were  to  come  and  terrify  me, 
they  would  not  be  able  to  create  in  me  fear  and 
terror."  And  then  he  dismissed  the  people  with 
these  words  : — "  Do  not  hereafter  give  way  to  anger: 
do  not  destroy  the  crops,  for  all  men  love  happiness. 
Show  mercy  to  all  living  beings,  and  let  men  dwell 
in  peace."  Just  as  in  the  case  of  the  Christian 
apostles,  some  centuries  later,  so  these  men  also  were 
supposed  to  have  to  fight  against  evil  spirits,  and 
their  success  was  great.  And,  as  Professor  Max 
Miiller  happily  observes,  their  recognition  that  it 
was  a  duty  to  preach  the  truth  as  they  had  received 
it  to  every  man,  woman,  and  child,  was  a  new 
thought  in  the  history  of  the  world,  the  love  of 
all  humanity. 

The  following  verses  are  a  translation  by  Dr. 
John  Muir  of  a  prophecy  from  the  Lalita-vistara  of 
what  the  mission  of  the  Buddha  should  be : — 

"  The  worid  of  men  and  gods  to  bless. 
The  way  of  rest  and  peace  to  teach, 
A  holy  law  thy  son  shall  preach — 
A  law  of  stainless  righteousness. 


40  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF 

By  him  shall  suffering  men  be  freed 

From  weakness,  sickness,  pain,  and  grief, 
From  all  the  ills  shall  find  relief 

Which  hatred,  love,  illusion  breed. 

His  hand  shall  loose  the  chains  of  all 
Who  groan  in  fleshly  bonds  confined  ; 
With  healing  touch  the  wounds  shall  bind 

Of  those  whom  pain's  sharp  sorrow  gall. 

His  potent  words  shall  put  to  flight 
The  dull  array  of  leaden  clouds 
Which  helpless  mortals'  vision  shrouds. 

And  clear  their  intellectual  sight. 

By  him  shall  men  who,  now  untaught, 

In  devious  paths  of  error  stray, 

Be  led  to  find  a  perfect  way — 
To  final  calm  at  last  be  brought." 

And  these  are  the  words  of  a  Buddhist  preacher 
respecting  his  Master's  estimate  of  "  the  cares  of  this 
world,  and  the  deceitfulness  of  riches "  (they  are 
quoted  from  the  Somadeva  by  Professor  Max  Miiller) : 
"  To  give  away  our  riches  is  considered  the  most 
difficult  virtue  in  the  world ;  he  who  gives  away  his 
riches  is  like  a  man  who  gives  away  his  life  :  for  our 
very  life  seems  to  cling  to  our  riches.  But  Buddha, 
when  his  mind  was  moved  by  pity,  gave  his  life,  like 
grass,  for  the  sake  of  others ;  why  should  we  think  of 
miserable  riches?  By  this  exalted  virtue,  Buddha, 
when  he  was  freed  from  all  desires  and  had  obtained 
divine  knowledge,  attained  unto  Buddhahood.  There- 
fore let  a  wise  man,  after  he  has  turned  away  his 


HEBREW    MOR.\LITY.  4I 

desires  from  all  pleasures,  do  good  to  all  beings,  even 
unto  sacrificing  his  own  life,  that  thus  he  may  attain 
to  true  knowledge." 

The  experience  of  Gautama  reminds  us  very  forci- 
bly of  what  Christ  had  to  encounter :  they  both  found 
a  national  religion  "  grown  decrepit  in  theology  and 
mythology,  scholasticism  and  speculation,  ceremo- 
nies and  outward  observances  of  every  sort,  merito- 
rious works  and  hypocrisy,  sacerdotal  and  philosoph- 
ical pride."  And  yet  beneath  all  this,  and  in  spite 
of  it,  true  and  beautiful  moral  thoughts,  noble  ideas 
of  the  Deity,  the  necessity  for  righteousness,  justice, 
mercy,  and  love  for  man,  were  insisted  on  and  taught 
in  many  an  earnest  parable  and  well-turned  maxim. 
And  what  was  original  and  new  in  both  reformers 
alike  was  not  so  much  that  they  placed  (as  has  been 
often  said)  man's  chief  duties  in  purity,  benevoknce, 
compassion,  self-sacrifice,  love — others  had  done  that 
before  them : — it  was  that  they  appealed  to  the 
natural  feelings  and  common  sense  of  men  to  say 
whether  these  things  were  not  enough^  and  the 
priestly  traditions,  and  formulas,  and  speculations, 
mere  unnecessary  lumber,  dangerously  liable  to  inter- 
fere with  man's  only  real  duties.  Assuredly  we 
cannot  too  much  honor  Buddha  and  Christ — the 
Enlightened  and  the  Anointed — the  two  truest  radi- 
cals that  ever  lived  ! 

With    regard    to    Brahmanism,  the    religion    that 


42  THE  DEVELOPMENT   OF 

Gautama  strove  to  reform,  but  which,  like  Judaism, 
continues  to  flourish  as  an  example  of  the  manner  in 
which  men  cling  to  institutions  long  after  their  use- 
fulness has  passed  away,  it  must  be  confessed  that 
its  moral  excellencies  are  now  buried  beneath  an 
almost  inconceivable  mass  of  ceremonies  and  super- 
stitions. As  Keshub  Chunder  Sen  remarks — "  The 
Hindus  walk  and  sit  religiously,  eat  and  drink  reli- 
giously ,work  and  sleep  religiously ;  their  social  organ- 
ism is  interwoven  with  their  religion."  It  is  the 
complex  code  of  Menu  that  has  thus  moulded  every 
detail  of  a  man's  daily  life,  placing  ceremony  and 
morality  on  precisely  the  same  footing,  and  making 
them  equally  binding  on  conscience. 

Buddha  quietly  disregarded  the  old  formalism  and 
the  tyrannous  caste  system,  and  appealed  straight 
to  the  hearts  and  intelligence  of  his  hearers,  address- 
ing hi-mself  especially  to  the  poor  and  degraded  ;  and 
this  is  what  his  message  to  them  was : — 

"  Let  good-will  without  measure,  impartial,  un- 
mixed, without  enmity,  prevail  throughout  the  world, 
above,  beneath,  around." 

"  Anger  is  not  appeased  by  anger,  but  by  gentle- 
ness." 

"  Mental  control,  and  the  subjection  of  the  pas- 
sions, is  the  path  to  happiness  and  eternity." 

"  Reverence  shown  to  the  righteous  is  better  than 
sacrifice." 


HEBREW   MORALITY.  43 

"A  man  buries  a  treasure  in  a  deep  pit,  which 
lying  day  after  day  concealed  therein  profits  him 
nothing  .  .  .  But  there  is  a  treasure  that  man  or 
woman  may  possess,  a  treasure  laid  up  in  the  heart, 
a  treasure  of  charity,  piety,  temperance,  soberness. 
...  A  treasure  secure,  impregnable,  that  cannot  pass 
away.  When  a  man  leaves  the  fleeting  riches  of  this 
world,  this  he  takes  with  him  after  death.  A  treas- 
ure unshared  by  others,  a  treasure  that  no  thief  can 
steal.  Let  the  wise  man  practice  virtue :  this  is  a 
treasure  that  follows  him  after  death." 

"  Let  man  perform  those  actions  of  which  the 
future  will  never  cause  him  to  repent." 

*'  Be  not  anxious  to  discover  the  faults  of  others, 
but  jealously  watch  your  own." 

"  As  the  solid  rock  stands  unbroken  by  the  storm, 
so  the  wise  man  is  unmoved  by  contempt  or  ap- 
plause." 

"All  religion  is  contained  in  these  three  sen- 
tences— purify  the  mind  ;  abstain  from  vice  ;  practice 
virtue." 

Almsgiving  to  those  advanced  in  perfection  is  as 
"  good  seed  sown  on  a  good  soil  that  yields  an  abun- 
dance of  good  fruits.  But  alms  given  to  those  who 
are  yet  under  the  tyrannical  yoke  of  passions  are 
like  a  seed  deposited  in  a  bad  soil ;  the  passions  of 
the  receiver  of  alms  choke  as  it  Avere  the  growth  of 
merits." 


44  THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF 

"Real  defilement  consists  in  evil  thoughts,  mur- 
ders, thefts,  lies,  fraud,  the  study  of  worthless 
writings,  adultery — such  are  Amaghanda,  and  not 
the  eating  of  flesh." 

"  Let  the  love  that  fills  the  mother's  heart  as  she* 
watches  over  an  only  child,  even  such  love,  animate 
all." 

"  There  are  difficult  things  in  the  world :  being 
poor,  to  be  charitable ;  being  rich  and  great,  to  be 
religious.  .  .  .  To  repress  lust,  and  famish  desire. 
.  .  .  To  bear  insult  without  anger.  To  move  in  the 
world  without  setting  the  heart  on  it.  Not  to  con- 
temn the  ignorant.  Thoroughly  to  extirpate  self- 
esteem.  To  be  good,  and  at  the  same  time  to  be 
learned  and  clever.  .  .  .  To  save  men  by  converting 
them.  To  be  the  same  in  heart  and  life.  To  avoid 
controversy." 

"  Drinking  of  the  water  of  a  life  of  seclusion  and 
of  the  water  of  subjugating  the  passions,  drinking 
also  of  the  pleasant  beverage  called  the  perception 
of  truth,  one  becomes  freed  from  emotion  and  sin." 

*'As  the  bee  collects  honey  and  departs  without 
injuring  the  flower,  so  let  the  sage  dwell  on 
earth." 

"  His  thought  is  quiet,  quiet  are  his  word  and  deed, 
when  he  has  obtained  freedom  by  true  knowledge, 
when  he  has  thus  become  a  quiet  man." 

"  If  one  man  conquer  in  battle  a  thousand  times 


HEBREW    MORALITY.  45 

thousand  men,  and  if  another  conquer  himself,  he  is 
the  greatest  of  conquerors." 

"  If  a  man  does  what  is  good,  let  him  do  it  again  ;  let 
him  delight  in  it:  happiness  is  the  outcome  of  good." 

"  Let  no  man  think  lightly  of  evil,  saying  in  his 
heart.  It  will  not  come  nigh  unto  me.  Let  no  man 
think  lightly  of  good,  saying  in  his  heart,  It  will  not 
benefit  me.  Even  by  the  falling  of  waterdrops  a 
water-pot  is  filled." 

"  Some  people  are  born  again ;  evil-doers  go  to 
hell ;  righteous  people  go  to  heaven  ;  those  who  are 
free  from  all  worldly  desire  enter  Nirvana." 

"All  men  tremble  at  punishment,  all  men  love 
life;  remember  that  thou  art  like  unto  them,  and  do 
not  kill,  nor  cause  slaughter." 

"  He  whose  evil  deeds  are  covered  by  good  deeds 
brightens  up  this  world,  like  the  moon  when  she 
rises  from  behind  the  clouds." 

"  Speak  the  truth,  do  not  yield  to  anger ;  give,  if 
thou  art  asked,  from  the  little  thou  hast ;  by  these 
steps  thou  wilt  go  near  the  Gods." 

"  The  fault  of  others  is  easily  perceived,  but  that 
of  oneself  is  difficult  to  perceive;  the  fault  of  others 
one  lays  open  as  much  as  possible,  but  one's  own 
Jault  one  hides,  as  a  cheat  hides  the  bad  die  from  the 
gambler." 

"  Cut  out  the  love  of  self,  like  an  autumn  lotus, 
with  thy  hand  !     Cherish  the  road  of  peace." 


46  THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF 

"  What  is  the  use  of  platted  hair,  O  fool  ?  what  of 
the  raiment  of  goatskins?  Within  thee  there  is 
ravening^but  the  outside  thou  makest  clean." 

"  Conquer  a  man  who  never  gives,  by  gifts ; 
Subdue  untruthful  men  by  truthfulness  ; 
Vanquish  an  angry  man  by  gentleness  ; 
And  overcome  the  evil  man  by  goodness." 

"  To  honor  father  and  mother,  to  provide  for  wife 
and  child,  and  to  follow  a  blameless  vocation :  these 
are  excellencies. 

"  To  be  charitable,  act  virtuously,  be  helpful  to 
relatives,  and  to  lead  an  innocent  life ;  these  are 
excellencies. 

"  Humility,  reverence,  contentment,  gratitude, 
attentiveness  to  religious  instruction :  these  are 
excellencies. 

"  To  be  gentle,  to  be  patient  under  reproof :  these 
are  excellencies.  Self-restraint  and  chastity,  the 
knowledge  of  the  great  principles :  these  are  excel- 
lencies." 

The  noble  eight-fold  path,  which  all  men  ought 
to  try  and  follow,  was — i.  Right  views.  2.  High 
aims.  3.  Kindly  speech.  4.  Upright  conduct.  5. 
A  harmless  livelihood.  6.  Perseverance  in  well- 
doing.    7.  Intellectual  activity.     8.  Earnest  thought. 

"  This  is  my  exhortation.  The  parts  and  power 
of  men  must  be  dissolved  ;  with  diligence  work  out 
your  salvation." 


HEBREW   MORALITY.  4/ 

The  whole  ethical  portion  of  Buddha's  teaching  is 
summed  up  by  M.  Laboulaye  (quoted  by  Professor 
Max  Miiller)  in  these  words :  "  Every  shade  of  vice, 
hypocrisy,  anger,  pride,  suspicion,  greediness,  gos- 
siping, cruelty  to  animals,  is  guarded  against  by 
special  precepts.  Among  the  virtues  recommended, 
we  find  not  only  reverence  of  parents,  care  for  chil- 
dren, submission  to  authority,  gratitude,  moderation 
in  time  of  prosperity,  submission  in  time  of  trial, 
equanimity  at  all  times,  but  virtues  unknown  in  any 
heathen  system  of  morality,  such  as  the  duty  of  for- 
giving insults,  and  not  rewarding  evil  with  evil.  All 
virtues,  we  are  told,  spring  from  Maitri,  and  this 
Maitri  can  only  be  translated  by  charity  and  love." 
In  other  words,  Buddha  anticipated  Christ  in  choos- 
ing the  "  Enthusiasm  of  Humanity"  as  the  basis  for 
his  moral  doctrine. 

In  his  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  delivered  to  his  dis- 
ciples only,  Buddha  gave  a  short  summary  of  his 
leading  principles,  which,  very  briefly,  amounted  to 
this  : — Concupiscence,  anger,  and  ignorance  are  the 
source  of  all  passions,  and  hence  of  all  sin  and  suf- 
fering :  those  only  are  wise  who  understand  this,  and 
cease  to  be  governed  by  their  passions,  or  to  care 
for  the  enjoyments  of  the  senses.  As  might  then 
be  expected,  chastity  holds  a  foremost  position 
amongst  the  necessary  virtues  ;  and  Buddha  saw  no 
better  way  of    securing  it  than  by  the    avoidance   of 


48  THE   DEVELOPMENT  OF 

all  possibility  of  temptation — that  is  to  say,  by 
shunning  the  society  of  women.  In  a  reported  con- 
versation with  Ananda,  one  of  his  chief  disciples,  he 
concluded  by  saying  that  if  a  devotee  was  obliged 
to  see  and  speak  with  a  woman,  he  must  think  of 
her  as  his  mother  or  sister. 

The  Roman  Catholic  Bishop  Bigandet,  in  his  in- 
teresting "  Life  of  Gaudama,"  thus  emphatically 
speaks  of  the  merits  of  Buddhism — and  his  testimony 
is  the  more  valuable,  by  reason  of  its  being  touched 
with  the  jealous  caution  peculiar  to  the  religious  and 
politicians  when  criticising  other  creeds  than  their 
own  : — "  It  may  be  said  in  favor  of  Buddhism,  that 
no  philosophico-religious  system  has  ever  upheld  to 
an  equal  degree  the.notions  of  a  saviour  and  deliverer, 
and  of  the  necessity  of  his  mission  for  procuring  the 
salvation,  in  a  Buddhist  sense,  of  man.  The  role  of 
Buddha,  from  beginning.toend,  is  that  of  a  deliverer, 
who  preaches  a  law  designed  to  secure  to  man  de- 
liverance from  all  the  miseries  under  which  he  is 
laboring."  The  Bishop's  remarks  here  continue  in 
a  way  that  shows  that  his  prejudices  would  not  allow 
him  to  see  in  the  end  and  aim  of  Buddhism  any- 
thing but  absolute  annihilation.  That  Nirvana, 
however,  cannot  fairly  be  understood  as  implying 
this,  we  shall  see  further  on.  Elsewhere  the  Bishop 
adds: — "  The  Christian  system  and  the  Buddhistic 
one,  though    differing    from    each    other    in    their 


HEBREW    MORALITY.  49 

respective  objects  and  ends  as  much  as  truth  from 
error,  have,  it  must  be  confessed,  many  striking  fea- 
tures of  an  astonishing  resemblance.  There  are 
many  moral  precepts  equally  commanded  and  en- 
forced in  common  by  both  creeds.  It  will  not  be 
deemed  rash  to  assert  that  most  of  the  moral  truths 
prescribed  by  the  Gospel  are  to  be  met  with  in  the 
Buddhistic  scriptures.  .  .  ,  Both  creeds  teach 
man  to  combat,  control,  and  master  the  passions  of 
his  heart,  to  make  reason  predominate  over  sense, 
mind  over  matter,  to  root  up  from  his  heart  every 
affection  for  the  things  of  this  world,  and  to  practice 
the  virtues  required  for  the  attainment  of  these  great 
objects.  Is  there  anything  surprising  that  persons, 
having  in  many  respects  views  nearly  similar,  resort 
to  means  or  expedients  nearly  alike  for  securing  the 
object  of  their  pursuit,  without  ever  having  seen  or 
consulted  each  other  ?  He  who  intends  to  practice 
absolute  poverty  must  of  course  abandon  all  his 
earthly  property.  He  who  proposes  renouncing  the 
world  ought  to  withdraw  from  it.  He  who  will  lead 
a  contemplative  life  must  look  out  for  a  retired  place, 
far  from  the  gaze  and  agitation  of  the  world.  To 
control  passions,  and  particularly  the  fiercest  of  all — 
the  sensual  appetite — it  is  required  that  one  should 
keep  himself  separate  from  all  that  is  calculated  to 
kindle  its  fires  and  feed  its  violence." 

And  again  :  "  In  reading  the  particulars  of  the  life 


50  THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF 

of  the  last  Buddha  Gaudama,  it  is  impossible  not  to 
feel  remiiided  of  many  circumstances  relating  to  our 
Saviour's  life,  such  as  it  has  been  sketched  out  by 
the  evangelists.  The  origin  of  the  close  afifinity 
between  any  doctrinal  points  and  maxims  common 
both  to  Christianity  and  Buddhism  having  been  ascer- 
tained, it  will  not  be  difficult  to  find  out  and  ex- 
plain how  the  votaries  of  both  have  come  to  adopt 
so  many  practices,  ceremonies,  observances,  and  in- 
stitutions nearly  similar." 

This  short  sketch  would  be  both  incomplete  and 
unsatisfactory  without  a  few  words  in  explanation 
of  the  great  aim  and  sanction  of  Buddhism,  namely, 
the  attainment  of  Nirvana.  In  a  recently  published 
"  Catechism  according  to  the  Canon  of  the  Southern 
Church,"  this  is  defined  as  being  "  a  condition  of 
total  cessation  of  changes ;  of  perfect  rest,  of  the 
absence  of  desire,  and  illusion,  and  sorrow ;  of  the 
total  obliteration  of  everything  that  goes  to  make 
up  the  physical  man.  Before  reaching  Nirvana, 
man  is  constantly  being  reborn  :  when  he  reaches 
Nirvana,  he  is  reborn  no  more."  And  the  cause  of 
this  continued  rebirth  is  "  the  unsatisfied  desire  for 
things  that  belong  to  the  state  of  individual  exist- 
ence in  the  material  world."  Also  in  one  of  the 
sacred  books  of  the  Northern  Buddhists  occurs  this 
promise  of  their  Master : — "  When  I  shall  have 
entered   into    complete    Nirvana,    I  will  send  forth 


HEBREW    MORALITY.  q  I 

numerous  miracles."  This,  difficult  point  cannot 
then  be  disposed  of  in  the  usual  off-hand  fashion, 
by  saying  that  Nirvana  means  personal  annihilation. 
Looking  at  the  whole  question  of  existence  from  the 
point  of  view  suggested  by  the  theory  of  transmi- 
gration, the  Buddhist  argument  might  be  stated 
thus: — "If  your,  life  is  evil,  it  will  result,  after 
death,  in  the  production  of  a  still  more  imperfect 
creature,  yourself  in  a  sense,  who  will  sufTer  for 
your  present  defects.  Seek  for  good,  get  rid  of 
desire  and  all  that  causes  you  to  love  a  physical 
existence,  and  you  will  attain  peace,  and  will  be 
making  a  step  forward  to  ultimate  Nirvana ;  in  the 
meantime,  your  goodness  will  result,  by  transmi- 
gration, in  the  formation  of  a  more  perfect  being, 
and  may  even  prove  to  be  the  influence  which  after 
many  ages  will  produce  a  supremely  Enlightened 
Being,  or  Buddha."  The  first  step  to  be  taken  is 
the  invariable  practice  of  virtue,  of  which  the  chief 
raison  d'etre,  according  to  Buddhist  doctrine,  is  that 
it  opens  the  only  way  to  deliverance  from  the  curse 
of  physical  life :  in  which  theory  we  may  note 
precisely  the  same  touch  of  refined  egoism  that 
we  observed  before  in  the  Mithraic  exhortations  to 
morality.  Notwithstanding  the  partial  incompre- 
hensibility of  the  promised  reward,  Buddha  has  had 
far  more  followers  than  any  other  religious  teacher, 
at   the   present   moment  more  than   a  third  of  the 


52  THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF 

human  race  acknowledging  him  as  their  Divine  Lord 
and  Master. 

Before  bringing  these  notes  on  Buddhism  to  a 
close,  the  essential  point  of  difference  between  this 
and  the  chief  monotheistic  religions  calls  for  a 
moment's  attention  :  it  is  as  follows — that  whilst 
these  latter  all  agree  in  teaching  that  God  can  and 
does  personally  aid  all  who  call  on  him  for  help, 
Buddha's  doctrine  was  that  no  such  assistance  can  be 
expected  from  heaven ;  but  that  man  must  work  out 
his  own  salvation  unaided,  except  by  the  favoring 
conditions  and  laws  of  nature.  He  further  taught 
that  the  results,  whether  as  reward  or  punishment,  of 
men's  conduct  follow  from  the  action  of  natural 
laws,  and  cannot  be  traced  back  to  the  will  of  a 
personal  Deity,  whom,  indeed,  the  modern  Buddhist 
regards  as  "  a  gigantic  shadow  thrown  upon  the 
void  of  space  by  the  imagination  of  ignorant  men." 
Observe,  that  there  is  no  denial  of  the  Divine  exist- 
ence, nor  even  of  the  Divine  help — in  one  sense — 
but  only  of  Divine  interference ;  and,  moreover,  that 
though  there  is  implied  a  necessary  agnosticism  on 
man's  part,  this  should  not  be  confounded  with  the 
wholly  unphilosophical  views  of  dogmatic  atheism. 

Certain  writers  have  tried  to  prove,  by  means  of 
the  striking  points  of  resemblance  between  the  two 
religions,  that  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  were 
actually   taken    from    Buddhism ;    but   so    far   their 


HEBREW   MORALITY.  53 

success  has  not  been  great.  Granting,  however, 
what  is  probably  the  whole  truth,  that  some  sHght 
connection  between  the  two  really  existed,  this 
parallelism  of  religious  and  moral  growth  in  simi- 
larly favorable  environments  is  exactly  what  the 
theory  of  evolution  would  lead  us  to  expect  ;  and 
it  is  such  facts  that  suggest  the  justice  of  im- 
partially rejecting  the  claims  of  all  religions  to  be 
considered,  hi  any  special  or  exclusive  sense,  Divine 
revelations.  It  is  from  regarding  our  religion  only 
in  its  later  manifestations,  from  ignoring  its  humble 
origin  and  gradual  development,  that  we  have  been, 
as  it  were,  dazzled  by  its  matured  beauty  into  an 
exaggeration  of  its  place  and  meaning  in  the  world's 
history.  To  take  a  very  simple  comparison  :  what, 
for  example,  should  we  be  tempted  to  think,  from 
an  equally  uncritical  standpoint,  of  the  latest  in- 
ventions of  electrical  science  ?  Should  we  not  feel 
similarly  inclined  to  cry  out.  It  is  a  God  who  has 
taught  us  these  things  !  But  we  know  the  history, 
the  very  gradual  growth  of  the  knowledge  now  so 
rich  in  results ;  that  it  is  the  sum  of  the  contri- 
butions of  many  students  and  workers  ;  and  that 
they  who  have  finished  the  work  are  not  necessarily 
greater  than  some  of  those  into  whose  labors  they 
entered. 

Surely  it  is  fair  enough  for  evolutionists  to  assert 
the  justice  of  a  like  historical,  or  organic,  view  of 


54  THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF 

religions ;  and  if,  by  so  studying  them,  the  natural 
growth  of  each  Christian  doctrine,  theological  as 
well  as  moral,  can  be  traced  back  to  its  birth  in  rude 
fetichism  and  superstition,  does  that  make  these  in 
reality  less  divine  than  if  they  had  come  down  to  us 
out  of  heaven  in  all  their  finished  grandeur?  The 
chief  justification  for  our  belief  in  a  special  revela- 
tion to  Israel  has  consisted  in  the  apparently  vast 
superiority  of  the  moral  and  religious  doctrines  of 
that  nation  over  all  others :  and  this,  we  are  now 
learning,  was  but  the  assumption  of  ignorance,  and 
without  foundation  in  actual  facts.  It  is  only  one 
more  example  of  what  has  long  been  obvious  to  all 
unprejudiced  thinkers,  that  every  increase  of  our 
knowledge,  historical  or  physical,  gives  a  fresh  blow 
to  the  old  theory  of  "special  interference." 

In  the  consideration  of  the  moral  doctrines  dealt 
with  in  this  chapter,  and  also  of  those  more  directly 
influencing  the  teaching  of  Christ,  which  we  shall 
now  proceed  to  examine,  one  word  of  warning  is 
needed.  By  ignoring  the  nobler  portions  of  alien 
creeds,  and  lightly  passing  over  the  archaisms  and 
moral  deficiencies  of  their  own,  orthodox  Christians 
have  established  a  prejudice  in  favor  of  the  latter 
very  detrimental  to  impartial  criticism  ;  indeed,  occa- 
sionally there  are  not  wanting  signs  of  irritation  on 
their  part,  when  the  faiths  of  others  are  proved  to  be 
not  so  groundless  and   foolish  as  religious  partisan- 


HEBREW    MORALITY.  55 

ship  could  desire.  As  we  shall  soon  see,  the  morality 
taught  by  Buddha,  the  Jewish  Rabbis,  and  Christ 
(to  take  no  further  examples),  was  practically  identi- 
cal,— not  unfrequently  expressed  in  the  same  terms. 
By  the  aid,  however,  of  the  process  mentioned,  we 
have  been  taught  to  attribute  to  the  last  named  a 
superiority  that  cannot  be  fairly  maintained  ;  but  we 
may  reasonably  hope  that  no  very  long  time  will 
elapse  before  we  have  effected  a  complete  readjust- 
ment of  our  attitude  towards  the  other  great  religions 
of  the  world.  Meanwhile  every  honest  thinker  should 
be  on  his  guard  against  the  temptation  to  credit  his 
own  religion  exclusively  with  the  virtues  it  incul- 
cates, but  fails  to  produce ;  whilst  he  holds  others 
accountable  for  the  vices  they  condemn,  but  cannot 
eradicate. 


In  conclusion,  let  us  briefly  glance  over  the  chief 
points  of  this  chapter:  its  object  has  been  to  give 
some  slight  and  popular  illustrations  of  certain  his- 
torical facts,  which  have  received  as  yet  only  a  cold 
and  hesitating  recognition  from  orthodox  teachers, 
and  consequently  have  not  gained  that  general  atten- 
tion to  which  their  great  importance  entitles  them ; 
they  are  as  follows  : — 

I .   Like  all  other  moral  and  religious  developments. 


56  HEBREW   MORALITY. 

that  of  the   Israehtes  was  the  result  of  a  perfectly 
natural  origin  and  gradual  growth. 

2.  Other  creeds  of  equal  beauty  and  value  were 
being  simultaneously  developed  in  various  parts  of 
the  East. 

3.  Owing  to  such  causes  as  the  Captivity,  and  the 
Alexandrian  conquests  in  Asia  and  Egypt,  some  of 
these  religions  became  known  to  the  Jews,  and,  in  one 
case  at  least,  exercised  a  most  important  influence  on 
their  later  doctrines. 

We  are  only  on  the  threshold,  as  it  were,  of  our 
acquaintance  with  the  histories  of  the  ancient  civiliza- 
tions :  until  quite  recently,  few  details  of  any  but  the 
Jewish  were  known  to  us,  and  it  may  be  truly  said — to 
adapt  an  old  paradox — that  in  thus  knowing  but  one 
history,  we  really  knew  none  at  all. 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE  ETHICS   OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

In  this  chapter  will  be  given  some  of  the  most 
obvious  evidence  in  support  of  the  view  of  Christ's 
ethical  teaching  which  has  been  already  advanced 
in  the  Introduction  to  these  Notes:  viz.,  that, 
on  even  a  slight  examination  of  what  we  now 
know  of  his  environment,  his  doctrine  takes  its  place 
naturally  as  a  selection,  with  but  little  alteration  or 
addition,  from  the  moral  and  religious  ideas  then 
prevalent  among  his  countrymen.  , 

Unfortunately,  without  perhaps  its  always  being 
said  in  so  many  words,  Christians  are  led,  or  left,  to 
suppose  that  their  Master's  teaching  was  essentially 
a  new  revelation.  As  we  shall  shortly  show  in  detail, 
all  that  he  taught  was  "  in  the  air ; "  sometimes, 
indeed,  in  existence  in  the  exact  form  of  words  he 
used.  A  second  point  that  calls  for  notice  is  that, 
owing  to  the  very  natural  desire  to  exalt  the  merit 
of  Christ  by  representing  him  in  an  attitude  of  com- 
plete opposition  to  his  contemporaries,  we  have  too 
generally  ascribed  to  his  opponents  an  impossible 
blackness,  and  uncritically  neglected  the  brighter 
aspects  of  his  time.     We  are  apt  to  forget  that  it  was 

57 


58  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

a  period  when  keen  interest  was  taken  in  everything 
that  concerned  religion,  law,  and  ethics  ;  that  indus- 
try and  learning  received  great  honor  and  respect ; 
that  public  education  was  established  and  com- 
pulsory ;  that  all  men  were  taught  some  industrial 
art,  and  that  many  of  the  Rabbis  themselves  lived 
by  manual  labor;  that  munificent  almsgiving  and  a 
willing  support  of  the  national  religion  were  invari- 
ably practiced :  in  short,  that  life  was  full  of  those 
excellent  habits  and  methods  which  tend  so  strongly 
to  what  may  be  called  the  mechanical  promotion  of 
goodness. 

It  will  be  well,  however,  not  to  dwell  further  on 
such  questions  as  these,  until  the  proofs  spoken  of 
are-before  the  reader.  For  greater  convenience,  the 
long  list  of  passages  to  be  quoted  from  various 
sources  will  be  arranged  under  four  chief  headings, 
and  then  again  under  several  subdivisions:  they  will 
be  principally  taken  from  the  Apocrypha,  the  Book 
of  Enoch,  the  Talmud,  the  New  Testament,  and  the 
non-canonical  Gospels  and  Epistles  accepted  by  the 
early  churches.  And  first,  a  word  or  two  as  to  some 
of  these  collections. 

The  Apocryphal  Books  of  the  Old  Testament  vary 
in  date  from  about  i8o  B.  c.  to  about  30  B.  c.  In  their 
moral  doctrines  a  steadily  increasing  insistence  on 
such  points  as  forgiveness,  philanthropy  ajid  alms- 
giving is  the  most  noticeable  point.     To  the  same 


CHRISTIAN  ETHICS.  59 

period  belongs  the  Book  of  Enoch :  this  is  the  work 
erroneously  referred  to  in  the  epistle  of  Jude  (v.  14) 
as  being  written  by  "  Enoch,  the  seventh  from 
Adam  "  ;  it  is  still  retained  in  the  Abyssinian  Canon, 
where  it  follows  the  Book  of  Job  ;  and  at  the  time  of 
Christ  it  was  revered  equally  with  the  other  books  of 
the  Hagiographa.  In  the  main,  this  work  resembles 
those  very  curious  visions  of  unsound  imaginations 
which  may  be  found  in  most  collections  of  sacred 
writings ;  abounding  in  incomprehensible  threats  and 
promises,  mystical  numbers,  names  and  duties  of 
angels,  descriptions  of  future  rewards  and  punish- 
ments, strange  titles  applied  to  the  Deity,  and 
similar  vague  and  unprofitable  matter.  The  anon- 
ymous author,  who  speaks  of  his  work  as  being 
addressed  by  the  Patriarch  Enoch  to  "  his  dear  son 
Mathusala,"  probably  wrote  between  120  and  100 
B.  c,  and  the  chief  moral  characteristic  of  his  book, 
as  the  quotations  which  will  be  given  will  show,  was 
a  constant  and  vehement  denunciation  of  wealth  and 
power,  as  per  se  criminal. 

But  our  principal  source  of  information  respecting 
the  moral  ideas  prevalent  among  the  Jews  at  the 
time  of  Christ  is,  of  course,  that  vast  monument  of 
learning  and  thought — full  of  wisdom,  and  almost 
equally  full  of  strange  folly — the  Talmud.  The  Tan- 
aites,  the  first  authors  of  this  huge  commentary, 
began  their  work  in  the  fourth  century  B.  C,  but  the 


6o  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

whole  was  not  completed  until  the  fourth  century 
A.  D.,  when  it  was  finally  committed  to  writing  under 
the  superintendence  of  the  Rabbi  Ascha.  Still,  as* 
Professor  Deutsch  remarked  in  his  famous  Essay 
("  Quarterly  Review,"  October,  1867),  "  We  need  not 
urge  the  priority  ol  the  Talmud  to  the  New  Testa- 
ment, although  the  former  was  redacted  at  a  later 
period.  To  assume  that  the  Talmud  has  borrowed 
from  the  New  Testament  would  be  like  assuming 
that  Sanskrit  sprang  from  Latin,  or  that  French  was 
developed  from  the  Norman  words  found  in  Eng- 
lish." Similarly,  Dr.  Zipser  concludes  his  Essay  on 
"  The  Talmud  and  the  Gospels  "  with  the  statement 
that  most  of  the  passages  he  quotes  from  the  Talmud 
— many  of  which  are  repeated  in  this  chapter — were 
the  utterances  of  doctors  who  "  either  lived  anterior 
to  the  founder  of  the  Christian  religion,  or  lived  in 
distant  countries,  far  away  from  the  theatre  of  his 
life,  where  they  had  no  knowledge  either  of  the 
existence  of  the  Christian  religion  or  of  the  gospel. 
We  may,  therefore,  in  all  probability,  conclude,  that 
the  founder  of  the  Christian  religion  had  imbibed 
these  moral  truths — which,  in  their  contents  as  well 
as  their  wording,  resemble  those  we  have  quoted  from 
the  Talmud — in  the  schools  of  the  Pharisees,  with 
which  his  injunction  to  his  apostles  and  followers 
(Matt,  xxiii.  3)  fully  coincides."  It  is  particularly 
necessatry  to  insist  on   the  fact  of  so  much  of  the 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  6l 

Talmud  being  really  far  older  than  the  date  of  its 
first  publication  would  imply,  because  of  the  appar- 
ently forcible  argument — How  could  Christ  be  in- 
debted to  the  Talmud,  if  the  Talmud  was  not  yet 
written  ?  The  answer  is — True,  it  was  not  completed 
before  Christ's  time,  but  much  of  it  already  existed 
in  traditional  form  ;  especially  are  many  of  the  best 
moral  sayings  those  of  Rabbis — Antigonus,  Hillel, 
Shammai,  Gamaliel,  Johannan — whose  teaching  pre- 
ceded his.  Nor  should  we  forget,  in  connection  with 
this  point,  the  ease  and  perfect  accuracy  with  which 
national  traditions  and  poetry,  religious  and  legal 
works,  were  handed  on  in  ancient  days,  often  during 
many  centuries,  entirely  by  memory.  Homer's  poems, 
for  .instance,  remained  unwritten  for  some  four  or 
five  centuries  after  his  death ;  while  a  still  more  re- 
markable example  is  that  of  the  Rig-Veda,  or  sacred 
hymns  of  India — more  than  a  thousand  in  number — 
"  which  have  been  handed  down  for  three  or  four 
thousand  years  by  oral  tradition."  (See  No.  HI.  of 
Max  Miiller's  Hibbert  Lectures.) 

Those  of  our  readers  who  are  wholly  unacquainted 
with  Rabbinical  literature  should  be  warned  against 
the  error  of  supposing  that  the  quotations  we  are 
about  to  give  are  average  specimens  of  the  contents 
of  the  Talmud ;  for,  in  reality,  they  represent  the 
very  best  of  its  moral  and  religious  doctrines.  Any 
inclination  to  regard  this  work  as  occupying  the  same 


62  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

lofty  moral  position  as  the  writings  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament will  speedily  be  removed  by  reference  to  such 
a  collection  of  extracts  as  Mr.  Gershon's  "Treasures 
of  the  Talmud,"  or  to  Professor  Polano's  "  Selections 
from  the  Talmud,"  either  of  which  will  afford  a  much 
fairer  basis  for  comparison  than  the  passages  given 
in  this  chapter. 

The  Talmud  consists  of  two  parts  :  the  Mishna,  or 

body  of  the  Oral  Law,  explains,  enlarges,  and  fixes 
« 
the    Mosaic    or  Written  Law ;  whilst    the    Gemara 

(Discussion)  contains  still  further  annotations  and 
amplifications  by  the  Rabbis,  often  in  the  form  of 
tales,  legends,  homilies,  and  so  forth.  The  present 
form  of  the  Mishna  was  in  all  probability  the  work 
of  the  elder  Hillel,  though  it  was  not  committed  to 
writing  for  public  use  until  about  200  A.D.  by  Juda 
the  Holy  (see  Polano,  Introduction,  pp.  6,  7).  Whole 
treatises  are  devoted  to  discussions  of  the  most  trifling 
ceremonial  details  ;  for  instance,  the  two  great  Rab- 
binical Schools  just  before  the  date  of  Christ's  birth 
— those,  namely,  of  Hillel  and  Shammai — were  per- 
petually differing  with  great  earnestness  and  often 
anger  on  such  points  as  to  whether,  at  meals,  it  was 
right  to  fill  the  goblet  for  the  blessing  first,  and  then 
wash  the  hands,  or  reverse  this  order  of  proceeding ; 
nor  could  they  agree  as  to  whether  a  man  should  put 
the  napkin  on  which  he  wiped  his  hands  on  the  table 
or  on  the  couch  ;  or  whether,  after  a  meal,  the  hands 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  63 

ought  to  be  washed  first,  and  then  the  room  be  swept, 
or  the  other  way  about.  Surely,  to  any  but  the  most 
rituaHstically  disposed,  this  must  seem  "  straining  of 
gnats"  with  a  vengeance?  Also  elaborate  regulations 
and  explanations  of  such  laws  as  "  Thou  shalt  not 
wear  a  garment  of  divers  sorts,  as  of  linen  and  woolen 
together"  (Deut.  xxii.  11)  are  considered  necessary. 
But,  if  we  except  the  case  of  the  cryptograph,  or 
cipher,  writings,  which  to  the  uninitiated  necessarily 
seem  nonsense  (see  Gershon,  Preface,  vii.)  it  is  per- 
haps in  the  Treatise  Sabbath  that  the  most  remark- 
able hairsplitting  and  logical  trifling  is  to  be  found. 
For  example,  the  tailor  must  not  go  out  with  his 
needle  near  dusk  on  the  sabbath-eve,  lest  he  forget 
and  carry  it  with  him  on  the  sabbath  itself.  A 
woman  may  not  go  out  with  a  finger-ring  that  has  a 
seal  on  it,  though  whether  she  may  with  a  false  tooth 
authorities  cannot  agree.  They  differ  also  as  to 
whether  a  cripple  may  take  his  wooden  leg  with  him. 
The  exact  distance  a  man  may  throw  anything  on  the 
sabbath  is  carefully  regulated.  A  knot  may  be  un- 
tied, only  if  it  can  be  done  with  one  hand.  He  who 
has  the  toothache  must  not  rinse  his  teeth  with  vine- 
gar, but  he  may  dip  something  in  vinegar,  and  then 
rub  his  teeth  with  it ;  "  and  if  he  does  get  cured 
he  does  get  cured,"  the  treatise  quaintly  adds.  A 
man  who  intends  to  go  further  than  two  thousand 
paces  on  the  sabbath  from  his  home  must  deposit 


64  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

food  for  two  meals  at  the  necessary  distance  before 
the  sabbath  begins  ;  by  this  device  that  place  be- 
comes his  home,  and  he  may  then  go  two  thousand 
paces  more  beyond  it.  And  yet,  with  all  this  punc- 
tilious extravagance,  there  are  not  wanting  many 
touches  of  common  sense  by  way  of  counterpoise ; 
danger  always  superseded  sabbatical  observances, 
and  even  for  the  sake  of  a  babe  it  may  be  broken 
without  hesitation  ;  though,  certainly,  the  argument 
used  has  rather  a  marring  effect,  "  for  the  babe  will 
keep  many  a  sabbath  yet,  for  that  one  which  was 
broken  for  it."  Self-respect  is  also  held  to  be  a  more 
binding  consideration — "  Rather  live  on  your  sab- 
bath as  you  would  on  a  week-day,  than  be  dependent 
on  others." 

The  Talmud  was  as  severe  on  Pharisaic  hypocrisy  as 
Christ  himself  was,  speaking  of  "  painted  Pharisees," 
a  fair  parallel  to  his  expression,  "  whited  sepulchres." 
We  are  told  that  there  are  no  fewer  than  seven 
classes  of  Pharisees  ;  and  each  kind  is  described  with 
pitiless  and  sarcastic  accuracy — possibly  a  more  effec- 
tive method  of  reform  than  the  use  of  angry  denun- 
ciation ;  while  none  of  them  are  admitted  to  be  truly 
worthy  of  the  name,  except  the  last  class,  which  con- 
sists of  those  "  who  do  the  will  of  their  Father  which 
is  in  heaven,  because  they  love  him." 

The  obligations  of  the  New  Testament  to  the  Tal- 
mud— or,  at  all  events,  to  the  same  general  sources 


I 


CHRISTIAN    ETHICS.  65 

of  doctrine — are,  as  might  reasonably  be  expected, 
both  numerous  and  important.  In  the  words  of  Pro- 
fessor Deutsch — "  There  are  many  more  vital  points 
of  contact  than  divines  yet  seem  to  recognize  ;  for 
such  terms  as  Redemption,  Baptism,  Grace,  Salvation, 
Regeneration,  Son  of  Man,  Son  of  God,  Kingdom  of 
Heaven,  were  not,  as  we  are  apt  to  think,  invented 
by  Christianity,  but  were  household  words  of  Talmud- 
ical  Judaism,  to  which  Christianity  gave  a  higher 
and  purer  meaning.  No  less  loud  and  bitter  in  the 
Talmud  are  the  protests  against  '  lipserving,'  against 
'  making  the  law  a  burden  to  the  people,'  against 
'  laws  that  hang  on  hairs,'  against  Priests  and  Phari- 
sees. .  .  .  The  ethics  in  both  are,  in  their  broad 
outlines,  identical." 

When,  however,  we  attribute  sayings  to 'particular 
teachers,  such  as  Hillel  or  Christ,  it  must  always  be 
with  a  certain  reservation,  owing  to  an  essential  dif- 
ference between  the  methods  of  ancient  and  modern 
historians.  A  modern  writer,  when  giving  a  speech 
or  saying  of  any  historical  character,  intends  us  to 
regard  it  as  actually  uttered  by  the  person  in  question; 
the  means  for  reporting  the  speech  were  available  on 
the  occasion,  we  may  suppose  ;  and  hence  we  can 
reasonably  expect  an  almost  verbatim  account  of 
what  was  said.  But  of  course  in  ancient  times 
it  was  different ;  in  those  days  the  historians 
themselves  composed  the  speeches  they  appear 
5 


66  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

to  report ;  sometimes  perhaps  from  tradition,  but 
as  a  rule  simply  by  putting  into  the  speaker's 
mouth  what  he  might  very  fairly  be  supposed 
to  have  said.  There  was  no  dishonesty  about 
this,  for  the  whole  process  was  a  perfectly  under- 
stood thing  ;  nor  would  any  contemporary  readers 
of  the  speeches  given  by  Herodotus,  Thucydides, 
Livy,  or  Tacitus  have  dreamt  that  they  were  fol- 
lowing the  ipsissima  verba  of  anybody  else  than 
the  author  himself.  Professor  Kuenen's  explanation 
of  this  custom  is  so  perfectly  satisfactory  that  we 
cannot  do  better  than  give  it  here  :  "  In  our  days, 
the  individuality  of  the  historical  writer  is  held  in 
check,  as  it  were,  by  public  opinion.  This  demands 
from  him  truth,  nothing  but  truth,  and  shows  itself 
severe  in  the  maintenance  of  this  requirement,  and 
in  the  punishment  of  every  sin  against  it.  In 
antiquity,  in  Israel  as  well  as  elsewhere,  the  case  was 
different.  The  historian  could  then  move  much 
more  freely.  Attention  was  directed  more  to  the 
spirit  in  which  he  wrote,  and  to  the  tendency  of  his 
narrative,  than  to  the  truth  of  the  entire  representa- 
tion, and  to  accuracy  in  the  details.  Historical 
writing  was  still  in  its  infancy.  If  we,  as  is  only  fair, 
proceed  upon  the  facts  themselves,  and  leave  out  of 
account  what  may  appear  to  us  to  be  desirable,  we 
must  affirm  that  what  we  now  would  call  the  sole  end 
was  then   viewed  as  a  means,  and,  conversely,  that 


CHRISTIAN    ETHICS.  6/ 

what  we,  at  most,  could  consider  as  an  incidental 
advantage,  was  then  regarded  as  the  principal  object. 
The  object  was,  to  express  it  in  one  word,  the  train- 
ing of  the  reader  in  this  or  that  religious  or  political 
direction.  In  the  estimation  of  the  writer,  the 
account  of  what  had  occurred  was  subordinate  to 
that  end,  and  was  therefore,  without  the  least  hesi- 
tation, made  to  subserve  it."  ("The  Prophets  and 
Prophecy  in  Israel,"  chap.  xii.  p.  430.) 

Now  we  have  not  the  slightest  reason  for  assuming 
that  the  Gospels  are  any  exception  to  this  general 
rule — indeed,  there  is  an  almost  absolute  certainty 
that  it  was  followed  in  their  case.  For  what  is  the 
so-called  Sermon  on  the  Mount  but  a  compilation  of 
excellent  maxims  and  parables,  all  possibly  uttered 
by  Christ  on  various  occasions,  but  no  more  ?  Com- 
paring the  parallel  collection  in  the  Gospel  of  Luke, 
is  it  not  evident  that  the  two  are  compositions  by 
different  persons  out  of  the  same  materials — that  is 
to  say,  from  the  sayings  of  Christ  carefully  and  lov- 
ingly carried  in  the  memories  of  his  disciples,  until 
they  were  committed  to  writing  for  the  use  of  the 
early  Church  ?  Or,  to  take  another  example, — the 
long  farewell  discourse  given  in  the  Gospel  of  John : 
this  is  undeniably  the  work  of  a  Greek,  not  a  Hebrew 
writer;  and  that  the  same  man  could  have  spoken 
in  that  purely  Greek,  articulated  style,  and  in  the 
Jewish,  disconnected  manner  of  the  speeches  reported 


68  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

in  the  other  Gospels,  is  simply  inconceivable.  The 
only  explanation  is,  that  these  speeches  were  com- 
posed according  to  the  prevalent  custom  of  those 
days — partly,  that  is,  from  traditional  sayings  of 
Christ's,  but  also  partly  by  attributing  to  him  what 
he  might  have  said.  The  whole  of  the  Sermon  on 
the  Mount,  so  far  at  least  as  its  moral  teaching  is  con- 
cerned, could  easily  be  reconstructed  out  of  the  Old 
Testament  and  the  Talmud  combined  ;  though,  doubt- 
less many  of  the  beautiful  illustrations  and  parables 
with  which  it  abounds  are  genuine  and  even  original 
logia  of  Christ's.  The  expression  so  often  used,  ''  It 
was  said  to  them  of  old  time  .  .  .  but  I  say  unto  you," 
&c.  (see  Matt.  v.  21,  27,  31,  39,  43),  is  very  sugges- 
tive on  this  point ;  for  Christ  himself  can  hardly 
have  been  ignorant  that  what  he  is  thus  represented 
as  claiming  as  his  own  was  probably  quite  familiar  to 
his  hearers  already.  Hence  that  he  ever  used  so 
marked  an  expression  is  most  unlikely  under  the 
circumstances ;  though  the  compiler  may  very  well 
have  added  it  as  conferring  distinction  on  the  doc- 
trines so  enunciated.  To  a  similar  purpose  we  may 
ascribe  the  sentence  at  the  end  of  the  Sermon ; 
unless  indeed  we  are  to  understand  these  two  verses 
(Matt.  vii.  28,  29)  as  meaning  that  it  was  the  vigor- 
ous style  of  his  teaching  which  astonished  the  peo- 
ple ;  the  matter  could  hardly  have  surprised  them, 
for,  as  it  has  been  neatly  said,  "  Le  discours  de  la  mon- 


CHRISTIAN    ETHICS.  69 

tagne  courait  les  rues  de  Jerusalem  bien  avant  qu'il 
eut  ete  prononce."  It  would  be  manifestly  unfair 
to  draw  any  conclusions  from  this  fact  adverse  to  the 
perfect  bona  fides  or  honesty  of  the  Gospel  writers  ; 
all  that  we  are  justified  in  saying  is  that  in  non-sci- 
entific ages  the  intellectual  consciences  of  men  were 
satisfied  with  a  different  standard  of  accuracy  from 
our  own. 

Before  going  on  to  the  analysis  we  propose  to 
make,  there  is  another  side  issue  well  worthy  of  a 
passing  notice,  by  reason  of  a  charming  illustration 
we  have  of  it  in  the  Talmud.  A  great  point  is  often 
made  of  the  refusal  of  the  Jews  to  believe  in  Christ, 
iiotiuithstanding  his  miracles  :  now  the  question  here 
is  not  whether  those  miracles  ever  toolc  place  at  all 
— such  a  digression  would  indeed  be  unjustifiable — 
but  simply  whether,  if  it  were  actually  wrought,  a 
miracle  could  in  those  days  be  fairly  claimed  as  a 
logical  proof  of  the  truth  of  an  accompanying  doc- 
trine. What  the  Rabbis  thought  of  the  matter  is 
shown  in  the  following  interesting  legend : — 

"  In  one  of  the  celebrated  academies  where  all  the 
sages  of  Israel  were  assembled,  there  arose  an  im- 
portant discussion  between  Rabbi  Eliezer,  one  of  the 
glories  of  the  synagogue,  and  his  colleagues,  as  to 
the  interpretation  of  certain  doctrinal  matters  refer- 
ring to  things  clean  and  unclean.     All  the  arguments 


70  CHRISTIAN    ETHICS. 

advanced  by  Rabbi  Eliezer  in  support  of  his  opin- 
ions had  been  unanimously  opposed  and  rejected  by 
the  other  doctors.  '  Well,'  indignantly  exclaimed 
the  illustrious  Rabbi,  '  let  this  banana  part  from  its 
roots,  and  plant  itself  on  the  opposite  side.'  At 
these  words,  the  tree  detached  itself  from  its  roots, 
and  planted  itself  on  the  opposite  side.  'What 
does  that  prove  ?  '  cried  the  doctors  with  one  voice  ; 
'  and  what  connection  has  the  value  of  this  banana 
with  the  question  which  occupies  us  ? '  '  Well,' 
again  exclaims  Rabbi  Eliezer,  '  may  the  rivulet  that 
flows  near  us  demonstrate  the  truth  of  my  opinion  ;' 
and  suddenly,  oh  miracle  !  the  waters  of  the  brook 
reascended  to  their  source,  '  Well,'  once  more  re- 
plied the  other  doctors,  '  whether  the  waters  flow  in 
one  direction  or  another,  what  connection  is  there 
between  this  circumstance  and  the  subject  of  our 
controversy?'  'Well,'  impatiently  said  Rabbi  Eli- 
ezer, '  may  the  walls  of  this  room  serve  me  as  proof 
and  testimony ; '  and  the  pillars  supporting  the  edi- 
fice bow,  obedient  to  the  voice  of  their  master,  and 
the  w^lls  crack  and  threaten  to  overwhelm  them. 
Then  Rabbi  Schoschonah,  one  of  the  most  renowned 
sages  of  the  age,  exclaimed,  '  O  walls !  O  walls ! 
when  sages  discuss  the  interpretation  of  the  law, 
what  have  you  to  do  with  their  arguments  ? '  And 
the  walls  stopped  as  they  were  falling,  and  remained 
leaning  suspended  over  the  heads  of   the  doctors. 


CIIRI'STIAN   ETHICS.  7 1 

'  May  God  himself  pronounce  supreme  judgment,' 
cried  Rabbi  Eliezer,  and  from  the  heavenly  heights 
the  daughter  of  the  voice  was  heard  saying,  '  No 
longer  call  in  question  the  doctrine  of  Rabbi  Eliezer : 
reason  is  on  his  side.' 

"  But  Rabbi  Schoschonah  protested  :  '  Neither 
reason,  nor  the  law,'  he  cried,  '  is  now  in  the  depths 
of  the  heavens ;  neither  miracles  nor  mysterious 
voices  have,  in  our  eyes,  the  power  to  demonstrate 
the  truth.  To  human  reason,  to  the  decision  of  the 
majority  of  the  sages  of  Israel,  is  committed  the 
interpretation  of  thy  law,  O  Lord  !  Henceforth  these 
alone  are  the  only  powers  that  can  prevail.'  "  Not- 
withstanding the  miracles  that  were  performed,  not- 
withstanding the  intervention  of  the  Divine  voice, 
the  opinion  of  Rabbi  Eliezer  was  condemned  by  the 
doctors  his  contemporaries.  And  (adds  the  Talmud) 
Rabbi  Nathan,  having  met  the  prophet  Elijah,  asked 
him  what  had  been  said  in  heaven  respecting  the 
debate,  and  received  the  following  answer :  "  The 
Eternal  smiled,  and  replied, '  My  sons  are  the  strong- 
est, my  sons  have  triumphed  ! '  " 

We  can  easily  understand  how  this  spirit  of  philo- 
sophical independence,  this  logical  estimate  of  the 
moral  value  of  wonder-working  (see  also  Deut.  xiii. 
i),  would  influence  men  of  thought  and  learning, 
when  prophets  appealed  to  their  "  works  "  in  proof 
of    their  divine    mission.      Would    they  not  regard 


72  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

such  appeals  as  mere  ad  captanduvi  arguments,  de- 
signed to  influence  popular  ignorance-,  but  of  no 
force  or  value  for  educated  men  ?  Let  us  be  just 
then,  even  to  the  enemies  of  Christ,  and  remember, 
when  told  of  their  obstinacy  and  incredulity,  that 
these  men  lived  in  an  atmosphere  of  belief  in  the 
miraculous;  the  Gospels  admit  the  fact,  only  claim- 
ing greater  difficulty  and  marvellousness  in  Christ's 
works  over  those  of  others :  even  to  the  disciples 
themselves  the  difference  was  but  one  of  degree, 
and  not  of  kind. 


The  four  headings  under  which  our  quotations 
will  be  arranged  are  : — 

I.  The  more  especially  Religious  Ideas:  the  nature 
of  God,  Prayer,  Trust,  Repentance.  The  God  civil- 
ized men  worship  is  the  heavenly  reflection  of  the 
qualities  they  love  :  hence  it  is  no  bad  way  of  study- 
ing a  people's  best  aspirations,  to  see  how  they 
describe  their  Deity,  since  he  is  the  perfect  repre- 
sentation of  their  ideal  of  goodness, 

II.  The  leading  Ethical  Principles,  which  were 
mainly  insisted  on  at  the  period  under  consideration  : 
such  as  Love,  Mercy,  Truth,  Charity,  Justice,  etc. 

III.  The  Ascetic  Basis  of  Morality:  under  which 
head  will  be  discussed  the  prevailing  doctrines  with 


CHRISTIAN    ETHICS.  73 

regard  to  Marriage  and  Divorce,  Family  Ties,  Pov- 
erty and  Riches,  the  Non-Resistance  of  Evil,  etc. 
IV.  The  Sanctions  of  Morality. 

[Of  course  in  reading  the  following  quotations,  particular 
attention  should  be  paid  to  the  perfect  similarity  between  the 
teaching  of  Christ  and  that  of  the  other  Rabbis  about  this 
time.  It  may  also  be  noticed,  as  a  further  parallelism  between 
them,  that  Christ's  arguments  are  generally  conceived  in  the 
true  Rabbinical  spirit,  and  his  citations  of  passages  from  the 
Old  Testament  are  made  in  precisely  the  same  curious — in  our 
eyes  loose  and  inconsequent — manner  as  those  we  come  across 
in  the  Talmud.  See,  for  example,  his  answers  to  the  Pharisees' 
questions  about  the  payment  of  the  tribute,  and  as  to  his 
authority  for  teaching  (Matt.  xxi.  24;  xxii.  19-21);  or,  again, 
the  reply  with  which  he  met  the  Sadducees'  argument  against 
the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  (Matt.  xxii.  32).] 


Religious  Ideas. 
I.    T]ic  Divine  Nature. 

"  Be  as  a  father  unto  the  fatherless,  and  instead  of 
an  husband  unto  their  mother :  so  shalt  thou  be  as 
the  son  of  the  Most  High,  and  he  shall  love  thee 
more  than  thy  mother  doth  "  (Ecclus.  iv.  10). 

**  Blessed  be  the  Lord,  v/ho  provides  for  our  neces- 
sities every  day"  (Talmud,  Hillel). 

"  Imitate  God  in  his  goodness.  Be  towards  thy 
fellow-creatures  as  he  is  towards  the  whole  creation. 
Clothe  the  naked  ;  heal  the  sick  ;  comfort  the  afflict- 
ed ;    be  a  brother  to  the  children  of  thy  Father;  he 


74  CHRISTIAN    ETHICS. 

comforteth  those  who  are  afflicted,  go  and  do  like- 
wise." 

"  Be  bold  as  a  leopard,  and  swift  as  an  eagle,  and 
fleet  as  a  hart,  and  strong  as  a  lion,  to  do  the  will  of 
thy  Father  which  is  in  heaven." 

"  He  maketh  his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  the 
good,  and  sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  the  unjust. 
.  .  .  Ye  therefore  shall  be  perfect  as  your  heavenly 
Father  is  perfect  "  (Matt.  v.  45,  48). 

"Are  not  two  sparrows  sold  for  a  farthing?  and 
not  one  of  them  shall  fall  on  the  ground  without  your 
Father  "  (Matt.  x.  29). 

"  Love  your  enemies  and  do  them  good,  and  lend, 
never  despairing ;  and  your  reward  shall  be  great, 
and  ye  shall  be  sons  of  the  Most  High,  for  he  is 
kind  toward  the  unthankful  and  evil  "  (Luke  vi.  35  ; 
compare  xv.  1 1-32, — the  Parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son). 

It  is  one  of  the  many  claims  inaccurately  made 
for  Christianity  that  it  was  the  first  revelation  of 
the  Fatherhood  of  God :  whereas  we  find  both  the 
doArine  itself,  and  even  this  particular  expression 
of  it,  familiar  to  the  early  Egyptians,  some  three 
thousand  years  before  Christ.  The  tender,  familiar 
terms  he  himself  used  in  speaking  of  the  Deity  were 
by  no  means  uncommon  in  his  day;  for  some  time 
all  thoughtful  minds  had  felt  the  need  of  these 
gentler  and  kindlier  views  of  their  God,  so  describ- 
ing him  that  they  could  indeed  love  and  reverence 


CHRISTIAN    ETHICS.  "75 

him.  And  nowhere  do  we  find  this  doctrine  of  the 
Divine  lov^e,  and  man's  need  of  it,  more  clearly- 
expressed  than  in  the  teaching  of  the  Alexandrian 
Jew,  Philo,  who  was  born  about  thirty  years  before 
Christ.  The  following  is  a  fair  summary  of  the 
more  important  part  of  his  creed — a  combination  it 
may  be  noticed,  of  Judaism  with  the  philosophy  of 
Plato  :— 

"  That  there  is  but  One  God,  whom  we  ought  to 
love  and  serve,  and  endeavor  to  resemble  in  holiness 
and  righteousness. 

"  That  he  rewards  humility  and  punishes  pride. 

"  That  the  true  happiness  of  man  consists  in  being 
united  to  God,  and  his  only  misery  in  being  separated 
from  him  :  the  soul  being  mere  darkness,  unless  it  be 
illuminated  by  him. 

"  That  men  are  incapable  of  praying  well  unless 
God  teaches  them  that  prayer  which  alone  can  be 
useful  to  them. 

"  That  the  only  thing  solid  and  substantial  is  piety 
— the  love  of  God  :  that  this  is  the  source  of  all  virtue, 
and  the  gift  of  God  himself. 

"  That  it  is  better  to  die  than  to  sin  ;  we  must  be 
constantly  learning  to  die,  and  yet  to  endure  life,  in 
obedience  to  God. 

"  That  it  is  a  crime  to  hurt  our  enemies  and  to 
revenge  ourselves  for  the  injuries  we  have  received. 
It  is  better  to  suffer  wrong  than  to  do  it. 


76  CHRISTIAN    ETHICS. 

"  That  God  is  the  sole  cause  of  good  and  cannot 
be  the  cause  of  evil,  which  always  springs  solely  from 
disobedience  and  the  ill-use  we  make  of  our  liberty. 

"  That  self-love  produces  that  discord  and  division 
which  reigns  among  men  and  is  the  cause  of  their 
sins. 

"  That  the  love  of  our  neighbors,  which  proceeds 
from  the  love  of  God  as  its  principle,  produces  that 
sacred  union  which  makes  families,  republics,  and 
kingdoms  happy. 

"  That  the  world  is  very  evil,  and  that  we  ought 
to  fly  from  it  and  unite  ourselves  to  God,  our  only 
health  and  life.  That  while  we  live  we  are  sur- 
rounded by  enemies,  the  conflict  calling  for  constant 
carefulness  and  resistance  ;  and  that  we  cannot  con- 
quer except  by  the  aid  of  God. 

"  That  the  Logos,  or  Word,  formed  the  world  ;  that 
to  know  the  Word  gives  us  happiness  now  and 
eternal  joy  after  death. 

"  That  the  soul  is  immortal :  the  dead  will  rise 
again  to  judgment,  when  men  shall  appear  with  their 
virtues  or  vices,  and  by  them  be  doomed  to  eternal 
misery  or  rewarded  with  eternal  happiness." 

Could  words  more  plainly  express  the  doctrine  that 
communion  with  the  Perfect  Holiness  and  Love  is 
the  sole  source  of  content ;  that  charity,  forgiveness, 
humility,  self-sacrifice,  are  the  greatest  of  human 
duties,  and  that  a  sure  retribution  awaits  men  after 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  ^^ 

death  ?  Nor  would  it  be  easy  to  advance  a  much 
clearer  proof  than  is  contained  in  this  creed  of  the 
Alexandrian  philosopher,  that  the  Christian  ideas 
were  already  in  existence  when  Christ  came  into  the 
world.  (For  further  information  respecting  Philo, 
see  Kuenen,  "  Religion  of  Israel,"  vol.  iii.  chap.  xi. 
193,  r/  seq>) 


II.   Prayer. 

"  It  is  better  to  say  a  short  prayer  with  reflection, 
than  a  long  prayer  without  fervor  "  (Talmud). 

"  Prayer,  without  devotion,  is  like  a  body  without 
soul." 

''  May  God  be  blessed  every  day  for  the  daily 
bread  which  he  gives  us  "  (Hillel). 

Two  ancient  Jewish  prayers — the  origin  of  the 
Lord's  Prayer: — 

"  Our  Father,  which  art  in  heaven,  be  gracious  to 
us,  O  Lord  our  God :  hallowed  be  thy  name  :  and 
let  the  remembrance  of  thee  be  glorified  in  heaven 
above,  and  upon  earth  here  below.  Let  thy  kingdom 
reign  over  us,  now  and  forever.  The  holy  men  of  old 
said,  remit  and  forgive  unto  all  men  whatsoever  they 
have  done  against  me.  And  lead  us  not  into  tempta- 
tion, but  deliver  us  from  the  evil  thing.  For  thine 
is  the  kingdom,  and  thou  shalt  reign  in  glory  for 
ever  and  for  evermore." 


yS  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

"  Our  Father,  who  art  in  heaven,  thy  will  be  done 
on  high  :  vouchsafe  to  bestow  a  peaceful  and  tranquil 
mind  on  those  who  honor  thee  on  earth  ;  but  do,  O 
Lord,  what  seems  good  in  thy  sight.  Give  me  only 
bread  to  eat,  and  raiment  to  put  on." 

"  Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  you ;  seek,  and  ye 
shall  find ;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you  " 
(Matt.  vii.  7). 

"  If  two  of  you  shall  agree  on  earth  as  touching 
anything  that  they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be  done  for 
them  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven "  (Matt, 
xviii.  19). 

"  All  things  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  prayer, 
believing,  ye  shall  receive  "  (Matt.  xxi.  22 ;  compare 
xvii.  20). 

"  In  praying,  use  not  vain  repetitions  as  the  Gen- 
tiles do :  for  they  think  that  they  shall  be  heard  for 
their  much  speaking.     Be  not  therefore  like  unto 
them,  for  your  Father  knoweth  what  things  ye  have  ' 
need  of,  before  ye  ask  him  "  (Matt.  vi.  7,  8). 

"  Our  Father,  which  art  in  heaven,  hallowed  be 
thy  name.  Thy  kingdom  come.  Thy  will  be  done, 
as  in  heaven,  so  on  earth.  Give  us  this  day  our  daily 
bread.  And  forgive  us  our  debts,  as  we  also  have 
forgiven  our  debtors.  And  bring  us  not  into  tempt- 
ation, but  deliver  us  from  the  evil  one."  (Matt.  vi. 
9-13)- 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  79 

It  will  not  perhaps  be  out  of  place  to  speak  here 
of  the  radical  change  that  is  undoubtedly  coming 
over  all  of  us  —  if  we  except  a  small  number  of 
fanatics  known  as  the  Peculiar  People — with  regard 
to  this  question  of  Prayer.  As  Mr.  Spencer  remarks, 
the  African  medicine-men  beat  their  gongs,  and  howl 
and  dance,  as  the  best  way  of  obtaining  rain  when  it  is 
wanted :  the  modern  Church  prays  and  sings  hymns 
for  the  same  purpose :  the  only  essential  difference 
between  the  two  methods  consisting  in  the  greater 
decency  and  refinement  of  the  second.  And  yet, 
signs  of  a  far  more  important  divergence  being  near 
at  hand  are  not  wanting ;  for,  whereas  the  savage 
priest  would  not  hesitate  to  ask  for  an  adjournment 
of  sunset,  or  that  water  might  run  uphill,  the  civilized 
one  would  Logically,  the  latter  occupies  a  very 
awkward  position  indeed  :  believing  that  the  Omni- 
potent Deity  has  promised  to  answer  all  faithful 
prayers,  he  nevertheless  recognizes  that  accurate 
knowledge  on  any  point  precludes  the  possibility  of 
prayer.  The  sciences  of  Meteorology  and  Hygienics 
are  still  in  a  very  rudimentary  state ;  but  as  science 
advances,  prayer  retreats.  No  one  would  dream  of 
asking  that  the  sun  should  rise  an  hour  earlier  to- 
morrow, because  we  can  see  in  our  almanacs  exactly 
when  it  must  rise  ;  but  some  people  still  pray  for  fine 
weather,  or  for  rain,  because  on  this  point  our  pre- 
dictions are  yet  uncertain :  though   it   is  doubtful, 


8o  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

even  here,  whether,  for  example,  any  one  could  be 
found  of  sufficient  simplicity  to  pray  for  the  non- 
fulfilment  of  one  of  those  meteorological  messages 
from  New  York.  Is  then  only  that  inevitable  which 
our  present  science  can  certainly  foretell?  Setting 
aside  all  casuistical  attempts  at  an  impossible  recon- 
ciliation, is  not  this  how  the  matter  stands?  Though 
it  was  the  unequivocal  doctrine  of  Christ,  as  of  the 
Old  Testament  and  the  Talmudical  writers,  that  God 
will  change  the  course  of  events,  his  original  purpose, 
in  answer  to  men's  prayers — and,  moreover,  that  to 
bring  such  alteration  about  is  right  and  dutiful  on 
our  part — we,  on  the  other  hand,  are  unmistakably 
tending  towards  a  firmer  belief  in  unvarying  natural 
laws,  never  interfered  with.  And  that  this  must  be 
so,  is  evident  if  we  consider  that  the  old  doctrine 
implies  a  frequent  disconnection  between  cause  and 
effect,  which  (if  real)  would  render  all  the  predictions 
of  science — to  speak  very  plainly — so  many  guesses, 
liable  to  fail  whenever  piety  pulled  the  trigger  of 
prayer,  and  set  Omnipotence  to  the  work  of  altera- 
tion. 

This  particular  point  is  but  one  example  of  the 
many  radical  differences  between  the  views  of  religion 
and  science  on  the  whole  subject  of  causation.  As 
Mr.  Spencer  says  ("  Data  of  Ethics,"  p.  48), — "  How 
slowly  .  .  .  the  conception  of  causation  evolves, 
a  glance  at  the  evidence  shows.     We  hear  with  sur- 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  8 1 

prise  of  the  savage  who,  falling  down  a  precipice, 
ascribes  the  failure  of  his  foothold  to  a  malicious 
demon ;  and  we  smile  at  the  kindred  notion  of  the 
ancient  Greek,  that  his  death  was  prevented  by  a 
goddess,  who  unfastened  for  him  the  thong  of  the 
helmet  by  which  his  enemy  was  dragging  him.  But, 
daily,  without  surprise,  we  hear  men  who  describe 
themselves  as  saved  from  shipwreck  by  '  divine  inter- 
position,' who  speak  of  having  *  providentially' 
missed  a  train  which  met  with  a  fatal  disaster,  and 
who  called  it  a  '  mercy '  to  have  escaped  injury  from 
a  falling  chimney-pot — men  who  in  such  cases  recog- 
nize physical  causation  no  more  than  do  the  uncivi- 
lized, or  semi-civilized.  The  Veddah  who  thinks 
that  failure  to  hit  an  animal  with  his  arrow  resulted 
from  inadequate  invocation  of  an  ancestral  spirit, 
and  the  Christian  priest  who  says  prayers  over  a  sick 
man  in  the  expectation  that  the  course  of  his  disease 
will  so  be  stayed,  differ  only  in  respect  of  the  cigent 
from  whom  they  expect  supernatural  aid  and  the 
phenomena  to  be  altered  by  Jiim :  the  necessary  re- 
lations among  causes  and  effects  are  tacitly  ignored 
by  the  last  as  much  as  by  the  first." 

So  much  ill-feeling  is  usually,  though  perhaps 
unnecessarily,  shown  in  disputes  on  this  and  kindred 
points,  that  it  may  be  worth  while  to  devote  a  few 
more  lines  to  an  attempted  explanatian  of  the  moder- 
ate scientific  case — that  is,  of  the  belief  of  those  who 


82  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

think  it  desirable  that  their  religious  creed  should 
not  be  in  direct  contradiction  with  the  existing  know- 
ledge of  nature's  laws.  It  is  argued  on  the  other 
side — and  it  may  at  once  be  admitted,  not  without 
some  force — that  men  will  soon  cease  to  worship  and 
commune  with  a  God  in  whose  present,  particular 
action  on  themselves  they  do  not  believe  ;  and  that 
— such  is  human  nature — a  practical  atheism  will,  in 
no  very  long  time,  be  the  inevitable  result.  The 
evolutionist  regrets  this  danger,  but  cannot  offer  to 
change  his  scientific  doctrines  in  order  to  meet  it ; 
moreover,  he  thinks  he  has  good  reason  for  trusting 
that  a  deeper  knowledge  of  the  beautiful  scheme  of 
nature,  and  a  sounder  faith  in  the  future  destiny  of 
humanity,  will  prove  a  sufficient  remedy.  And  this, 
we  hope,  may  be  accepted  as  a  fair  statement  of  the 
creed  he  opposes  to  the  old  orthodoxy : — 

We  believe  that  God  created  the  world,  and  that 
the  theory  of  evolution  expresses,  more  exactly  than 
any  other  yet  propounded,  the  principles  of  the 
action  of  nature  upon  all  living  things.  Hence  we 
also  believe  that  the  world  does  not,  like  a  machine, 
require  a  constant  personal  attention  ;  but  that  the 
Creator,  in  his  wisdom,  has  left  it  without  further 
interference  on  his  part,  and,  so  far  as  we  can  judge, 
entirely  under  the  guidance  of  natural  laws.  And 
this  he  has  done,  we  venture  to  think,  for  man's  sake, 
who  is  thus  surrounded  by  an  order  so   absolutely 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  83 

fixed,  that  science  is  possible :  in  other  words,  that 
man  is  encouraged  to  study  these  unvarying  laws, 
as  he  learns  more  and  more  surely  that  they  are  not 
liable  to  any  influences  beyond  his  power  of  calcula- 
tion, and  therefore  can  be  studied  to  his  great  intel- 
lectual as  well  as  material  profit.  Thus  the  complete 
mental  education  of  man  is  secured.  So  too  in 
obedience  to  the  moral  precepts  of  nature,  whom  no 
prayers  can  turn  from  a  salutary,  because  unbending 
sternness,  he  finds  his  only  chances  of  happiness. 
And  thus  (by  his  ultimately  learning  that  every  act 
must  be  followed  by  its  consequences ;  that  by  no 
possibility  can  repentance  for  sin  take  the  place  of 
its  punishment)  is  secured  his  complete  moral  edu- 
cation. 

That  the  very  scantiness  of  such  a  creed  should 
win  for  it  the  popular  epithet,  "  atheistical,"  is  only 
what  might  be  confidently  expected :  every  confes- 
sion of  necessary  ignorance,  however  humbly  worded, 
is  always  so  entitled  by  those  who  reserve  all  their 
scepticism  for  scientific  facts,  whilst  eagerly  credul- 
ous of  doctrines  that  are,  from  their  very  nature,  be- 
yond the  reach  of  any  possible  proof  or  verification. 

[The  following  notable  example  of  the  change  spoken  of 
above,  is  taken  from  the  Pall  Mall  of  May  27,  1882  : — "  As 
Victoria  has  lately  been  suffering  from  a  severe  drought,  the 
Bishop  of  Melbourne  was  asked  to  frame  a  special  form  of  prayer 
for  rain  for  use  in  his  diocese.  He  flatly  refused.  Changes  in 
the  weather,  he  said,  were  the  result  of  unwavering  natural  laws. 


84  CHRISTIAN    ETHICS. 

and  prayer  was  an  agency  more  fitted   for  securing  spiritual 
blessings  than  material  needs."] 


III.     Trust. 

"He  who  called  man  into  existence,  will  also  clothe 
and  provide  him  with  all  necessaries  "  (Talmud). 

"  Did  you  ever  behold  the  lion  bearing  burdens, 
the  stag  holding  harvest,  the  fox  engaged  in  traffic, 
or  the  wolf  selling  viands?  And  yet  they  all  find 
their  food  without  care.  How  much  more  should 
this  be  so  with  man,  who  had  been  created  to  the 
service  of  the  Almighty?  But  our  iniquities  have 
perverted  our  high  destiny,  and  brought  us  sorrow 
and  care." 

"  To  what  purpose  has  God  created  insects  and 
vermin  ?  They  have  been  created  for  a  wise  end  : 
that  the  sinner  may  take  a  lesson,  and  not  despair 
of  God's  providence  and  his  paternal  love  :  for,  since 
he  gives  life  to,  and  maintains,  these  useless  crea- 
tures, how  much  more  will  he  do  so  to  man  ?" 

"  He  who  makes  supplication  to  God  in  an  uncon- 
trolled and  ardent  spirit,  is  considered  of  little  faith." 

"  He  who  has  bread  in  his  basket  for  to-day,  and 
asks  where  he  shall  find  some  for  to-morrow,  is  of 
little  faith." 

"  On  whom  do  we  rest  ?  On  our  Father,  who  is  in 
heaven." 


CHRISTIAN    ETHICS.  85 

"  Each  hour  is  enough  for  its  trouble." 

"  Be  not  anxious  for  your  life,  what  ye  shall  eat, 
or  Avhat  ye  shall  drink  ,  nor  yet  for  your  body,  what 
ye  shall  put  on.  .  .  .  Behold  the  birds  of  the  heaven, 
that  they  sow  not,  neither  do  they  reap,  nor  gather 
into  barns  ;  and  your  heavenly  Father  feedeth  them. 
Are  not  ye  of  much  more  value  than  they?  "  (Matt, 
vi.  25,  26). 

"  Be  not  therefore  anxious  for  the  morrow,  for  the 
morrow  will  be  anxious  for  itself.  Sufficient  unto 
the  day  is  the  evil  thereof "  (Matt.  vi.  34). 

"  Ask  great  things,  and  the  small  shall  be  added 
to  you  ;  and  ask  heavenly  things,  and  the  earthly 
shall  be  added  to  you "  (Traditional  Saying  of 
Christ's). 

[This  doctrine  of  improvidence,  for  such  it  seems  to  us,  was 
in  Christ's  eyes  simply  the  reaHzation  of  absolute  trust  in  the 
Fatherhood  of  God  : — Seek  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  leave 
God  to  take  care  of  the  rest !  How  literally  he  meant  this  to  be 
understood  is  shown  by  the  metaphor  of  the  birds  and  the 
flowers :  we  may,  however,  freely  admit  that  probably  the 
climate  and  charitable  customs  of  his  country  to  a  great  extent 
justified  the  advice.  But  so  powerfully  has  experience  re-acted 
on  this  spirit  of  trustfulness,  that  we  read  even  such  an  order  as 
— "  Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens,  and  so  fulfil  the  law  of 
Christ "  (Gal.  vi.  2) — with  a  difference,  thus  : — Be  very  careful 
how  you  shield  others  from  the  natural  consequences  of  their 
conduct,  for  "  to  stand  between  men  and  the  effects  of  their 
folly,  is  to  help  to  fill  the  world  with  fools."] 


86  CHRISTIAN  ETHICS. 

IV.    Repentance. 

"  There  was  a  king  who  bade  all  his  servants  to  a 
great  repast,  but  did  not  tell  them  the  hour:  some 
went  home  and  put  on  their  best  garments  and  stood 
at  the  door  of  the  palace :  others  said,  *  There  is 
ample  time ;  the  king  will  let  us  know  beforehand.* 
But  the  king  summoned  them  of  a  sudden ;  and 
those  that  came  in  their  best  garments  were  well 
received ;  but  the  foolish  ones,  who  came  in  tffeir 
slovenliness,  were  turned  away  in  disgrace.  Repent 
to-day,  lest  to-morrow  ye  might  be  summoned " 
(Talmud;  compare  Matt.  xxii.  2-14,  xxiv.  42-51, 
XXV.  1-13). 

"  Repent  one  day  before  thy  death." 

"  Even  the  most  righteous  shall  not  attain  to  so 
high  a  place  in  heaven  as  the  truly  repentant." 

"  Even  if  the  offender  should  offer  in  sacrifice  all 
the  sheep  of  Arabia,  he  will  not  be  justified  before 
asking  forgiveness  of  him  he  has  offended." 

"Whoso  restores  what  he  has  stolen  before  he 
offers  his  trespass-offering  is  absolved  from  his  guilt ; 
but  a  trespass-offering  without  restoration  does  not 
clear  from  sin." 

"  Sins  committed  against  God,  true  repentance  on 
the  day  of  atonement  can  procure  remittance  for  ; 
but  sins  committed  against  our  fellow-creatures 
neither  repentance  nor  the  day  of  atonement  can 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  87 

purge  away,  if  amends  have  not  been  previously 
made,  and  the  injured  brother  appeased." 

''If  therefore  thou  art  offering  thy  gift  at  the 
altar,  and  there  rememberest  that  thy  brother  hath 
aught  against  thee,  leave  there  thy  gift  before  the 
altar,  and  go  thy  way ;  first  be  reconciled  to  thy 
brother,  and  then  come  and  offer  thy  gift "  (Matt.  v. 
23,  24). 

"  I  say  unto  you  that  even  so  there  shall  be  joy  in 
heaven  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth,  (more)  than 
over  ninety  and  nine  righteous  persons,  which  need 
no  repentance  "  (Luke  xv.  7). 

"  They  that  are  whole  have  no  need  of  a  physician, 
but  they  that  are  sick  :  I  came  not  to  call  the  right- 
eous, but  sinners  "  (Mark  ii.  17), 


General  Moral  Principles. 

I.    Truth. 

"As  for  truth,  it  endureth,  and  is  always  strong; 
it  liveth  and  conquereth  for  evermore.  With  her 
there  is  no  accepting  of  persons  or  rewards ;  but  she 
doeth  the  things  that  are  just,  and  refraineth  from 
all  unjust  and  wicked  things ;  and  all  men  do  well 
like  of  her  works.  Neither  in  her  judgment  is  any 
unrighteousness ;  and  she  is  the  strength,  kingdom, 


88  CHRISTIAN  ETHICS. 

power,  and  majesty  of  all  ages.     Blessed  be  the  God 
of  truth  "  (i  Esd.  iv.  38-40). 

"  Who  is  he  who  will  never  see  the  face  of  God  ? 
These  are,  first  the  hypocrites,  then  the  liars  "  (Tal- 
mud). 

"  He  who  gains  public  esteem  by  a  feigned  virtue 
— by  imposture — he  is  a  thief.  Whosoever  steals 
the  good  opinion  of  men,  it  is  as  if  he  stole  the 
esteem  of  God." 

"  Let  thy  yea  be  yea:  let  thy  nay  be  nay." 

"  Ye  shall  know  the  truth,  and  the  truth  shall 
make  you  free  "  (John  viii.  32). 

"  Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  to  them  of  old 
time.  Thou  shalt  not  forswear  thyself,  but  shalt  per- 
form unto  the  Lord  thine  oaths  :  but  I  say  unto  you. 
Swear  not  at  all ;  neither  by  the  heaven,  for  it  is  the 
throne  of  God ;  nor  by  the  earth,  for  it  is  the  foot- 
stool of  his  feet ;  nor  by  Jerusalem,  for  it  is  the  city 
of  the  Great  King.  Neither  shalt  thou  swear  by  thy 
head,  for  thou  canst  not  make  one  hair  white  or 
black.  But  let  your  speech  be.  Yea,  yea  ;  nay,  nay ; 
and  whatsoeveris  more  than  these  is  of  the  evil  one  " 
(Matt.  V.  33-37)- 

Here  we  have  one  of  the  many  cases  in  which 
Christians  not  only  deliberately  go  contrary  to  their 
Master's  teaching,  but, — to  make  matters  worse — 
attempt,  very  clumsily,  to  explain  away  the  change 
that  has  been  found  desirable.     Christ,  in  very  dis- 


CHRISTIAN    ETHICS.  89 

tinct  terms,  forbade  all  swearing,  as  the  Rabbis  had 
done  before  him:  whilst  James  laid  down  the  same 
doctrine,  if  possible,  more  clearly  still : — "  But  above 
all  things,  my  brethren,  swear  not,  neither  by  the 
heaven,  nor  by  the  earth,  nor  by  any  other  oath : 
but  let  your  yea  be  yea,  and  your  nay,  nay ;  that  ye 
fall  not  under  judgment"  (v.  12).  But  men  are  not 
yet  trained  to  such  absolute  exactness  as  to  be  able 
to  dispense  with  an  occasional  solemn  reminder  that 
they  may  not  indulge  in  their  ordinary  inaccuracies 
and  exaggerations.  "  The  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and 
nothing  but  the  truth,"  if  insisted  on  in  everyday 
life,  would  be  somewhat  oppressive  to  most  of  us ; 
and  so  oaths  are,  politically  and  legally,  useful.  Still 
the  compilers  of  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  of  Religion 
are  hardly  to  be  congratulated  on  their  discovery 
that  these  commands  of  Christ  and  his  brother  could 
only  refer  "  to  rash  and  vain  swearing  "  ;  in  accord- 
ance with  which  explanation,  and  by  a  curious  touch 
of  unintentional  irony,  oaths  are  taken  on  the  New 
Testament  itself. 


II.  Justice. 
"  At  the  creation  ot  the  world  God  instituted  this 
just   retribution — measure   for   measure — and,   if  all 
the  laws  of  nature  should  be  reversed,  this  law  would 
stand  forever"  (Talmud). 


90  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

"  One  ought  to  abstain  from  judging  a  friend  or 
an  enemy,  for  one  finds  not  easily  either  the  friend's 
faults  or  the  enemy's  merits." 

"  With  the  measure  we  mete,  we  shall  be  measured 
again." 

"Judge  not  that  ye  be  not  judged.  For  with 
what  judgment  ye  judge,  ye  shall  be  judged  :  and 
with  what  measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be  measured 
unto  you  "  (Matt.  vii.  i,  2). 

"  Judge  not  according  to  appearance,  bu't  judge 
righteous  judgment  "  (John  vii.  24). 

"  He  that  is  without  sin  among  you,  let  him  first 
cast  a  stone  at  her  "  (Traditional  Saying  of  Christ's.) 


III.  Mercy. 

"  He  who  is  merciful  towards  his  fellow-creatures 
shall  receive  mercy  "  (Talmud). 

"  Let  this  be  thy  guide  in  life:  if  thou  dealest 
mercifully  with  thy  fellow-creatures,  the  All-Merciful 
will  have  mercy  on  thee." 

"  One  may  not  desire  an  enemy's  misfortune,  nor 
rejoice  in  his  fall." 

"Be  like  God,  compassionate,  pitiful ;  make  your- 
self equal  to  God." 

"  He  who  forgives   trespasses   committed  against 


CHRISTIAN  ETHICS.  9I 

him  by  man,  his  trespasses  will  also  be  forgiven  by- 
God." 

"  Whose  sins  does  God  forgive  ?  His  who  himself 
forgives  injuries." 

"  If  ye  forgive  men  their  trespasses,  your  heavenly 
Father  will  also  forgive  you.  But  if  ye  forgive  not 
men  their  trespasses,  neither  will  your  Father  forgive 
your  trespasses"  (Matt.  vi.  14,  15). 

"  Be  ye  merciful,  even  as  your  Father  is  merciful. 
And  judge  not  and  ye  shall  not  be  judged :  and  con- 
demn not,  and  ye  shall  not  be  condemned  :  release, 
and  ye  shall  be  released :  give,  and  it  shall  be  given 
unto  you :  good  measure,  pressed  down,  shaken 
together,  running  over,  shall  they  give  into  your 
bosom  "  (Luke  vi.  36-38  ;  compare  also  the  Parable 
of  the  Two  Debtors,  Matt,  xviii.  21-35.) 


IV.  Love. 

"  Do  that  to  no  man  which  thou  hatest "  (Tobit 
iv.  15). 

"  Love  peace  and  pursue  it ;  love  all  men,  and 
thus  bring  them  near  to  the  law  of  God "  (Tal- 
mud, Hillel). 

"  Thou  shalt  not  say,  I  will  love  the  wise,  but  the 
unwise  I  will  hate :  but  thou  shalt  love  all  mankind 
alike." 


92  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

"  Love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,  that  is  the  basis 
of  the  Divine  law." 

"  Whosoever  does  not  persecute  them  that  per- 
secute him,  whosoever  takes  an  offence  in  silence, 
he  who  does  good  because  of  love,  he  who  is  cheerful 
under  his  sufferings — they  are  the  friends  of  God, 
and  of  them  the  Scripture  says,  And  they  shall  shine 
forth  as  does  the  sun  at  noonday." 

"  Rejoice  not  when  thine  enemy  falleth,  and  let 
not  thine  heart  be  glad  when  he  stumbleth  ;  lest  the 
Lord  should  see  it,  and  it  be  evil  in  his  sight,  and 
turn  his  wrath  from  him  upon  thee." 

"  Wear  mourning  for  the  Egyptians,  suppress  the 
prayer  of  glorification  on  the  seventh  day  of  the 
Passover.  It  is  the  anniversary  of  the  day  when 
your  enemies  the  Egyptians  perished  in  the  Red 
Sea,  and  God  desires  not  to  be  glorified  because  his 
creatures  have  been  drowned  beneath  the  waves." 
The  Midrasch  on  the  above  runs  as  follows  : — "  On 
the  morning  of  the  day  when  the  Egyptians  were 
drowned  in  the  waves  of  the  Red  Sea,  the  angels 
came  before  tlie  throne  of  God  to  sing  his  praises. 
*  Peace,'  cried  the  Eternal  to  them,  *  my  creatures 
are  about  to  perish  in  the  waters,  and  you  desire  to 
smg! 

The  Talmud  tells  the  following  charming  story 
of  Hillel,  who  died,  it  may  as  well  be  noticed,  when 
Christ  was  about  ten  years  old.     A  certain  heathen, 


CHRISTIAN    ETHICS.  93 

contermptuous  of  the  vast  mass  of  Jewish  laws  and 
ceremonies,  went  to  Shammai,  one  of  the  two  leading 
rabbis  of  the  day,  and  promised  mockingly  he  would 
become  a  convert  if  the  whole  law  could  be  taught 
him  while  he  could  stand  on  one  leg.  Shammai  got 
very  angry,  and  sent  the  fellow  about  his  business. 
So  he  went  to  the  other  great  rabbi,  Hillel,  to  repeat 
his  joke.  The  president  heard  him  very  quietly 
and  then  said — "  Good,  my  son  !  make  ready  and 
attend.  Do  not  to  others  what  you  would  not  have 
them  do  to  you.  This  is  the  substance  of  the  law, 
the  rest  is  only  its  application." 

"  All  things  whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should 
do  unto  you,  even  so  do  ye  also  unto  them  "  (Matt, 
vii.  12). 

"  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy 
heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind. 
This  is  the  great  and  first  commandment.  And  a 
second  like  unto  it  is  this.  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself.  On  these  two  commandments 
hangeth  the  whole  law,  and  the  prophets "  (Matt. 
xxii.  37-40). 

"  Love  your  enemies,  and  pray  for  them  that  per- 
secute you  "  (Matt.  v.  44). 

"  Ye  have  received  without  payment — give  with- 
out payment  "  (Matt.  x.  8). 

"  A  new  commandment  I  give  unto  you,  that  ye 
love  one  another ;  even  as  I  have  loved  you,  that  ye 


94  CHRISTIAN    ETHICS. 

also  love  one  another.  By  this  shall  all  men  know 
that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if  ye  have  love  one  to 
another"  (John  xiii.  34,  35). 

[The  totally  unjustifiable  pretence  to  novelty  in  this  doctrine 
of  love  proves  that  it  cannot  have  been  enunciated  by  Christ  as 
here  reported  ;  he  was  not  so  ignorant  of  the  morality  that  pre- 
ceded his  teaching.] 

'*  Never  be  joyful,  except  when  ye  shall  look  on 
your  brother  in  love"  (Traditional  Saying  of 
Christ's). 

Two  other  excellent  expressions  of  the  "  Golden 
Rule,"  as  it  is  called,  are  well  worth  quoting  here  : 
"  What  you  do  not  wish  done  to  yourself,  do  not 
to  others,"  were  the  words  of  the  Chinese  philosopher, 
Confucius,  five  hundred  years  before  Christ.  "  Do 
not  force  on  thy  neighbor  a  hat  that  hurts  thine 
own  head,"  was  the  still  older  Hindu  proverb.  But 
is  there  not  underlying  all  forms  of  this  precept  a 
slight  suggestion  of  egoism,  just  a  suspicion  of  the 
idea  of  possible  retaliation  ?  Can  we  accept  the 
maxim  as  anything  but  a  rough  and  ready  criterion 
of  action,  from  its  very  simplicity  admirable  for  the 
semi-civilized,  but  far  from  being  an  ideal  rule  of 
life  ?  There  can  be  but  one  truly  satisfactory  basis 
for  the  guidance  of  one's  conduct  towards  others — 
and  that  is  synipatJiy ;  the  value  of  which  depends 
entirely  on  its  accuracy  and  fineness;  and  that  again 
on  the  expression  of  the  emotions  and  their  inter- 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  95 

pretation.  To  discuss  this,  however,  is  not  our 
business  here ;  we  have  only  to  note  the  existence  of 
this  slight  taint  of  self-consideration  in  the  sanctions 
of  even  the  noblest  morality  we  have  yet  touched 
upon ;  the  point  is  very  interesting,  and  will  again 
claim  our  notice  in  a  more  important  connection, 
when  we  come  to  speak  of  the  moral  sanctions  of 
Christianity  further  on. 


V.  Charity  and  Almsgiving. 

"  Give  alms  of  thy  substance ;  and  when  thou 
givest  alms  let  not  thine  eye  be  envious,  neither  turn 
thy  face  from  any  poor,  and  the  face  of  God  shall 
not  be  turned  away  from  thee.  If  thou  hast  abund- 
ance, give  alms  accordingly:  if  thou  hast  but  a  little, 
be  not  afraid  to  give  according  to  that  little ;  for 
thou  layest  up  a  good  treasure  for  thyself  against 
the  day  of  necessity.  Because  that  alms  do  deliver 
from  death,  and  suffereth  not  to  come  into  darkness. 
For  alms  is  a  good  gift  unto  all  that  give  it  in  the 
sight  of  the  Most  High.  .  .  .  Give  of  thy  bread  to 
the  hungry,  and  of  thy  garments  to  them  that  are 
naked  ;  and  according  to  thine  abundance  give  alms; 
and  let  not  thine  eye  be  envious,  when  thou  givest 
alms"  (Tobit  iv.  7-11,  16). 


96  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

"  Water  will  quench  a  flaming  fire ;  and  alms 
maketh  an  atonement  for  sins.  And  he  that  re- 
quiteth  good  turns  is  mindful  of  that  which  may- 
come  hereafter;  and  when  he  falleth,  he  shall  find  a 
stay"  (Ecclus.  iii.  30,  31). 

"  Reject  not  the  supplication  of  the  afflicted ; 
neither  turn  away  thy  face  from  a  poor  man  "  (Ec- 
clus. iv.  4), 

"  He  who  helpeth  the  poor  in  his  troubles,  of  him 
says  the  prophet,  Thou  shalt  call,  and  the  Lord  shall 
answer"  (Talmud). 

"  He  who  gives  charity  in  secret,  is  greater  than 
Moses  himself." 

"  The  house  that  does  not  open  to  the  poor  shall 
open  to  the  physician." 

**  Even  the  birds  in  the  air  despise  the  miser." 

*^  Let  thy  house  be  opened  wide,  and  let  the  needy 
be  thy  household." 

"  He  who  wishes  to  salt  his  money,  that  is,  to  pre- 
serve it,  ought  ceaselessly  to  diminish  it  by  charity  ; 
so  to  lose  is  to  gain." 

"  Alms  themselves  are  only  rewarded  in  proportion 
to  the  charity  they  contain." 

"  Let  the  poor  be  the  sons  of  thy  house." 

"  He  who  possesses  the  three  following  virtues  is  of 
the  race  of  our  father  Abraham :  they  who  have 
them  not  are  not  his  children.  His  true  children 
are  compassionate,  modest,  and  charitable." 


CHRISTIAN    ETHICS.  97 

"  For  one  farthing  given  to  a  poor  man  in  alms,  a 
man  is  made  partaker  of  the  beatific  vision." 

"  Rabbi  Jannai  saw  one  giving  money  openly  to  a 
poor  man ;  to  whom  he  said,  It  is  better  you  had 
not  given  at  all,  than  so  to  have  given." 

The  Eight  Degrees  of  Charity — collected  from 
various  parts  of  the  Talmud  by  Maimonides : — 

"  The  first,  and  highest,  is  that  of  the  man  who 
aids  the  poor  before  his  fall,  either  by  gifts  or  by 
loans,  or  by  a  partnership  to  prevent  his  falling  into 
want." 

"The  second  is  that  which  gives  without  knowing 
and  without  being  known." 

"  The  third  is  that  of  the  man  who  knows  the  poor 
one  to  whom  he  gives,  and  who  does  not  make  him- 
self known.  So  did  the  wise ;  they  used  to  cast 
purses  of  money  secretly  into  the  houses  of  the 
poor." 

"The  fourth  is  that  of  the  man  who  is  known 
by  the  poor  one,  without  ever  knowing  him  per- 
sonally." 

"The  fifth  is  that  of  the  man  who  gives  to  the 
poor  one,  from  hand  to  hand,  without  waiting  to  be 
asked." 

"  The  sixth  is  that  of  the  man  who  only  gives  after 
having  been  asked." 

"  The  seventh  is  that  which  gives  less  than  it  ought 
to  give,  and  without  benevolence."     And,  lastly — 
7 


98  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

"  The  eighth,  the  lowest  degree  of  the  charita- 
ble scale,  is  that  which  gives  with  annoyance  and 
regret." 

Before  quoting  the  examples  of  Christ's  teaching 
on  this  very  practical  point,  a  few  words  must  be 
said  on  an  important  question  of  critical  interpreta- 
tion : — In  what  sense  are  we  to  understand  that 
teaching  ?  As  has  been  already  said,  one  great 
object  of  the  quotations  in  this  chapter  is  to  show 
that  all  Christ's  ethical  doctrine  had  its  natural 
source  in  the  moral  ideas  that  preceded  and  sur- 
rounded him,  and  that  even  the  form  he  gave  it 
was  only  occasionally  original.  This  is  a  fact  with 
which  all — even  the  most  orthodox,  notwithstanding 
some  "  disturbance" — ought  to  become  thoroughly 
familiarized,  and  to  use  for  critical  purposes :  the  in- 
ferences from  it  are  so  significant,  especially  the  one 
we  have  now  to  consider, — namely,  the  correct  ap- 
preciation of  Christ's  meaning.  Anticipating  the  re- 
maining details  of  this  chapter,  we  may  say  that  its 
conclusions  will  be  that  Christ  found  such  doctrines 
as  that  poverty  was  essential  to  the  spiritual  life,  the 
duty  of  indiscriminate  almsgiving,  and  of  offering  no 
resistance  to  evil  doers,  the  desirability  of  extreme 
asceticism,  and  the  like,  prevalent  amongst  the  more 
thoughtful  of  his  countrymen  ;  that  he  sanctioned 
these  in  unmistakable  terms,  handing  them  on  prac- 
tically unaltered,   and  stamped  with  his  approval; 


CHRISTIAN   ETHrCS.  99 

that  his  earliest  followers  adopted  precisely  the  same 
course ;  and  that  the  Church  for  centuries  preached 
and  practised  these  doctrines.  Yet  the  system  of 
interpretation  now  in  vogue  in  Protestant  churches 
is  to  ignore  all  such  testimony  as  to  the  real  meaning 
of  Christ's  words ;  to  alter  and  amend  this  up  to  our 
later  knowledge  ;  and  then  to  say  that  he  never  ex- 
pected us  to  understand  him  literally,  but,  in  fact, 
wished  our  practice  to  be  pretty  much  the  reverse  of 
his  preaching !  Who  can  fail  to  see  the  reason  for 
such  argument  ?  Is  it  not  simply  that  modern  ex- 
perience and  the  growth  of  science  have  proved 
much  of  the  ancient  doctrine  and  practice  wrong ; 
that  it  would  therefore  contradict  the  orthodox 
assumptions  about  Christ's  nature  to  admit  that 
such  faulty  opinions  were  really  his ;  and  further, 
that  Christianity  could  not  hope  for  an  even  nominal 
acceptance,  without  such  alterations  and  conces- 
sions ? 

Not  for  one  moment  do  we  wish  to  deny  the 
entire  justice  of  Mr.  Matthew  Arnold's  critical  canon, 
"  Christ  over  the  head  of  his  reporters  " — that  on 
many  occasions  his  disciples  manifestly  misunder- 
stood him,  and  have  consequently  given  us  very  muti- 
lated versions  of  what  he  really  said  ;  and  that  it  is 
accordingly  only  reasonable  that  isolated  sayings  at- 
tributed to  him,  in  plain  contradiction  to  his  general 
teaching,  should  be  received  with  the  greatest  cau- 


lOO  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

tion  and  allowed  but  little  weight.  But  for  all  this 
we  are  on  comparatively  safe  ground  with  regard  to 
the  great  proportion  of  the  ethical  sayings :  for  why 
should  these  be  misunderstood  ?  They  were  no 
novelties,  but  such  as  the  common  people  could  hear 
gladly,  being  familiar  thoughts  put  into  simple  and 
beautiful  words.  Here  surely,  then,  we  may  have 
confidence  in  the  Gospel  histories,  as  being  to  all  in- 
tents and  purposes  correct ;  and  may  we  not  even  go 
a  step  further  and  accept  the  teaching  of  the  chief 
apostles  and  the  practice  of  the  early  Church  in  ex- 
planation or  illustration  of  any  doubtful  or  difficult 
points  ?  At  all  events  they  were  far  more  likely  to 
be  right  in  these  matters  than  we  are,  having  in  their 
favor — (i)  a  similar  environment,  and  the  absence  of 
the  obscuring  power  of  time ;  and  (2)  a  large  mass  of 
tradition  of  recent  date  and  consequently  of  great 
illustrative  value.  Is  it  unreasonable  to  believe  that 
a  churchman  of  the  first  or  second  century,  in  Pales- 
tine or  Egypt,  would  be  much  more  likely  to  under- 
stand his  Master's  meaning,  than  an  Englishman  or 
Frenchman  eighteen  hundred  years  later  ? 

The  point  then  to  be  particularly  insisted  on  is 
this  : — the  true  meaning  of  a  moral  teacher  is  what  the 
%vords  he  uses  would  naturally  imply  to  his  hearers. 
As  the  great  Hebrew  scholar.  Dr.  John  Lightfoot, 
wrote,  more  than  two  centuries  ago — "  I  concluded 
as  assuredly  that  .  .   .  the  best  and  most    natural 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  lOI 

method  of  searching  out  the  sense  is,  to  inquire  how, 
and  in  what  sense,  those  phrases  and  manners  of 
speech  were  understood,  according  to  the  vulgar  and 
common  dialect  and  opinion  of  that  nation  ;  and  how 
they  took  them,  by  whom  they  were  spoken,  and  by 
whom  they  were  heard.  For  it  is  no  matter  what 
we  can  beat  out  concerning  those  manners  of  speech 
on  the  anvil  of  our  own  conceit,  but  what  they 
signified  among  them,  in  their  ordinary  sense  and 
speech."  So  too.  Dr.  Cox  more  tersely  argues : 
"  Christ  was  a  Jew,  and  spoke  to  Jews  ;  and  in  what 
but  their  Jewish  sense  can  we  fairly  and  reasonably 
interpret  his  words  ?  " 

For  example,  take  this  question  of  Almsgiving: 
here  are  the  facts  of  the  case.  In  Christ's  time  a 
perfect  monomania  existed  among  the  Jews  for  this 
form  of  charity :  so  much  so,  indeed,  that  the  Rabbis, 
not  many  years  afterwards,  had  actually  to  forbid 
the  unlimited  practice  of  the  very  virtue  they  had 
fostered,  and  to  ordain  that  no  one  should  give  more 
than  a  fifth  of  his  patrimony  to  the  poor.  Our 
quotations  from  the  Talmud  also  show  that  it  was 
looked  upon  as  a  special  merit  in  almsgiving  that  it 
should  be  "  indiscriminate  ";  and  it  is  not  hard  to 
understand  the  charm  such  a  point  would  have  for 
impulsive  and  generous  minds,  without  an  inkling  of 
the  doctrines  of  Political  Economy.  Who  can  read 
even  the  few  examples  we  have  given,  and  fail  to 


102  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

recognize  that  these  Jews  loved  the  uncalculating 
benevolence  that  is  the  most  striking  feature  in  this 
boundless  charity?  The  one  thing  considered  was 
the  virtue  of  the  g'iver — his  love  and  pity  that  sought 
immediate  and  kindly  expression,  and  even  a  deli- 
cate and  inoffensive  way  of  conferring  the  kindness. 
Can  it  be  pretended,  then,  that  his  countrymen 
would  regard  Christ's  words  as  not  being  meant 
literally,  when  he  urged  this  very  thing — indiscrimi- 
nate giving?  The  modern  conscience,  it  is  true, 
cannot  unreservedly  admit  the  beauty  of  these  old- 
fashioned  ways,  because  modern  experience  has 
proved  their  harmfulness  ;  the  motto  of  the  "  Charity 
Organization  Society,"  for  instance,  can  hardly  be 
said  to  be — "  Give  to  him  that  asketh  thee,  and  from 
him  that  would  borrow  of  thee  turn  not  thou  away  " 
(Matt.  v.  42).  Our  system  of  scientific  charity  in- 
volves an  altogether  different  class  of  thoughts  and 
feelings  from  those  which  Christ  and  his  contempor- 
aries contended  for — greater  cautiousness,  less  con- 
fidence in  our  fellows,  anxious  thought  for  the  mor- 
row, and  a  good  deal  besides,  very  foreign  to  those 
simpler  times.  It  is  therefore  worse  than  disingen- 
uous, it  is  also  stupid,  to  argue  that,  if  societies  and 
poor  laws  are  now  found  to  be  the  more  prudent 
way  of  dealing  with  poverty,  we  are  still  truly  obey- 
ing the  spirit  of  Christ's  teaching,  though  setting  his 
direct  orders  at  defiance.     He  never  contemplated 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  IO3 

the  possibility  of  such  changes  as  the  world  has 
passed  through  since  his  day  ;  nor  have  we  the  slight- 
est hint  that  he  anticipated  his  moral  teaching,  so 
solemnly  and  beautifully  expressed,  one  day  becom- 
ing an  antiquity — something  for  his  professed  fol- 
lowers to  admire  and  talk  about,  but  on  no  account 
to  practice. 

"  Give  to  every  one  that  asketh  thee  ;  and  of  him 
that  taketh  away  thy  goods  ask  them  not  again" 
(Luke  vi.  30). 

"  And  there  came  a  poor  widow,  and  she  cast  in 
two  mites,  which  make  a  farthing.  And  ne  called 
unto  him  his  disciples,  and  said  unto  them,  Verily  I  say 
unto  you.  This  poor  widow  cast  in  more  than  all 
they  which  are  casting  into  the  treasury :  for  they 
all  did  cast  in  of  their  superfluity ;  but  she  of  her 
want  did  cast  in  all  that  she  had,  even  all  her  living  " 
(Mark  xii.  42-44). 

"  Howbeit  give  for  alms  those  things  which  ye 
can ;  and  behold,  all  things  are  clean  unto  you " 
(Luke  xi.  41). 

"  Sell  that  ye  have,  and  give  alms  ;  make  for  your- 
selves purses  which  wax  not  old,  a  treasure  in  the 
heavens  that  faileth  not,  where  no  thief  draweth 
near,  neither  moth  destroyeth  "  (Luke  xii.  33). 

"  One  thing  thou  lackest  yet ;  sell  all  that  thou 
hast,  and  distribute  unto  the  poor,  and  thou  shalt 
have  treasure  in  heaven  "  (Luke  xviii.  22). 


104  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

"  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive  " 
(Acts  XX.  35). 

"  Give  without  distinction  to  all  that  are  in  want, 
not  doubting  to  whom  thou  givest.  But  give  to  all, 
for  God  will  have  us  give  to  all,  of  all  his  own  gifts. 
They  therefore  that  receive  shall  give  an  account  to 
God,  both  wherefore  they  received,  and  for  what 
end.  And  they  that  receive  without  a  real  need, 
shall  give  an  account  for  it ;  but  he  that  gives  shall 
be  innocent.  For  he  has  fulfilled  his  duty  as  he 
hath  received  it  from  God ;  not  making  any  choice 
to  whom  he  should  give,  and  to  whom  not.  And 
this  service  he  did  with  simplicity  and  to  the  glory 
of  God."  ("The  Shepherd  of  Hermas,"  Second 
Book,  Command  II.  6-9.) 

[No  words  could  show  more  clearly  the  essential  differences 
between  the  charity  of  Christ  and  the  early  Christians,  and  that 
of  the  present  day,  than  this  last  quotation.  Of  the  work  from 
which  it  is  taken,  we  may  mention  that  Irenasus  quotes  it  as 
scriptural,  Origen  considers  it  to  be  divinely  inspired,  and 
Eusebius  and  Jerome  state  that  it  was  read  in  the  churches, 
though  not  admitted  as  strictly  canonical.] 


VI.    Work  and  Action. 
"  Love  work,  and  hate  lordship  "  (Talmud). 
"  All  my  days  I  have  grown  up  amongst  the  wise 
and   have   not   found   aught   good   for  a  man   but 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  10$ 

silence ;  not  learning,  but  doing  is  the  groundwork ; 
and  whoso  multiplies  words,  occasions  sin." 

"  It  is  well  to  add  a  trade  to  your  studies  ;  you  will 
then  be  free  from  sin." 

"  The  tradesman  at  his  work  need  not  rise  before 
the  greatest  doctor." 

"  Greater  is  he  who  derives  his  livelihood  from 
work  than  he  who  fears  God." 

"  Get  your  living  by  skinning  carcasses  in  the 
street,  if  you  cannot  otherwise ;  and  do  not  say, 
I  am  a  great  man  :  this  work  would  not  befit  my 
dignity." 

"  Providence  sees  all,  free-will  is  given,  the  world 
is  judged  by  goodness,  and  all  is  determined  accord- 
ing to  works." 

"  A  man  who  studies  the  law,  and  acts  in  accord- 
ance with  its  commandments,  is  likened  to  a  man 
who  builds  a  house,  the  foundation  of  which  is  made 
of  freestone  and  the  superstructure  of  bricks.  Storm 
and  flood  cannot  injure  that  house.  But  he  who 
studies  the  law,  and  is  destitute  of  good  actions,  is 
likened  unto  the  man  who  builds  the  foundation  of 
his  house  of  brick  and  mortar,  and  raises  the  upper 
storeys  with  solid  stone.  The  flood  will  soon  under- 
mine and  overturn  the  house." 

"The  day  is  short,  and  the  work  is  great." 

"Whosesoever  wisdom  is  in  excess  of  his  woiks, 
to  what  is  he  like  ?     To  a  tree  whose  branches  are 


Io6  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

abundant,  and  its  roots  scanty :  and  the  wind  comes 
and  uproots  it,  and  overturns  it.  And  whosesoever 
works  are  in  excess  of  his  wisdom,  to  what  is  he 
like  ?  To  a  tree  whose  branches  are  scanty,  and  its 
roots  abundant :  though  all  the  winds  come  upon  it, 
they  stir  it  not  from  its  place." 

"  It  is  not  incumbent  upon  thee  to  complete  the 
work  ;  but  thou  must  not  therefore  cease  from  it." 

"  Not  every  one  that  saith  unto  me.  Lord,  Lord, 
shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  but  he  that 
doeth  the  will  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven  " 
(Matt.  vii.  2i). 

"  Every  one  therefore  which  heareth  these  words 
of  mine,  and  doeth  them,  shall  be  likened  unto  a 
wise  man,  which  built  his  house  upon  the  rock  ;  and 
the  rain  descended,  and  the  floods  came,  and  the 
winds  blew,  and  it  beat  upon  that  house,  and  it  fell 
not  :  for  it  was  founded  upon  the  rock.  And  every 
one  that  heareth  these  words  of  mine,  and  doeth 
them  not,  shall  be  likened  unto  a  foolish  man,  which 
built  his  house  upon  the  sand ;  and  the  rain 
descended,  and  the  floods  came,  and  the  winds 
blew,  and  smote  upon  that  house ;  and  it  fell :  and 
great  was  the  fall  thereof"  (Matt.  vii.  24-27). 

"  Then  shall  the  King  say  unto  them  on  his  right 
hand,  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the 
kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation  of 
the  world ;  for  I  was  an  hungered,  and  ye  gave  me 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  I07 

meat ;  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  drink ;  I  was  a 
stranger,  and  ye  took  me  in ;  naked,  and  ye  clothed 
me  ;  I  was  sick,  and  ye  visited  me  ;  I  was  in  prison, 
and  ye  came  unto  me.  .  .  .  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it 
unto  one  of  these  my  brethren,  even  these  least,  ye 
did  it  unto  me  "  (Matt.  xxv.  34-36,  40). 

"  So  let  your  light  shine  before  men,  that  they  may 
see  your  good  works,  and  glorify  your  Father  which 
is  in  heaven  "  (Matt.  v.  16). 

"  Every  good  tree  bringeth  forth  good  fruit ;  but 
the  corrupt  tree  bringeth  forth  evil  fruit.  A  good 
tree  cannot  bring  forth  evil  fruit,  neither  can  a 
corrupt  tree  bring  forth  good  fruit.  .  .  .  Therefore 
by  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them"  (Matt.  vii.  17, 
18,  20). 

"  Should  you  be  with  me  gathered  in  my  bosom, 
and  not  do  my  commandments,  I  will  cast  you  off, 
and  say  to  you.  Go  from  me,  I  know  not  whence  you 
are,  workers  of  iniquity."  (Traditional  Saying  of 
Christ's). 


VII.  Miscellaneous. 
The  following  sayings  do  not  come  under  any  of 
the  above  headings ;  they  are,  however,  given,  so 
that  no  part  of  Christ's  moral  teaching  may  be  omit- 
ted :  it  being  essential  that,  after  having  gone  through 
this  chapter,  the  reader  shall  not  feel  that  there  still 


I08  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

remain  other  doctrines  unconsidered,  and  conse- 
quently that  on  their  account  some  modifications  in 
our  deductions  may  be  necessary.  Moreover,  if  a 
passage  is  not  found  under  any  particular  heading, 
though  it  might  very  well  have  been  inserted  there, 
the  reader  must  not  at  once  conclude  that  it  has  been 
left  out  altogether:  it  probably  will  be  found  in 
another  place,  being  used  in  a  different  connection 
to  that  looked  for ;  and,  to  avoid  unnecessary  length, 
each  passage  is  only  quoted  once. 

"  He  who  calls  his  fellow-man  slave,  bastard,  or 
villain,  endangers  his  own  life  "  (Talmud). 

"  Be  as  particular  about  a  small  command,  as 
about  a  great." 

"  He  who  causes  his  brother  to  blush  in  public, 
shall  have  no  share  in  the  future  life." 

"  Be  slow  to  quarrel,  and  prompt  to  be  reconciled." 

"  It  is  not  sinners  whom  we  must  hate,  it  is  sin." 

"  Whosoever  does  not  increase  in  knowledge, 
decreases."     (Compare  the  following  quotation.) 

"  Unto  every  one  that  hath  shall  be  given,  and  he 
shall  have  abundance ;  but  from  him  that  hath  not, 
even  that  which  he  hath  shall  be  taken  away  "  (Matt. 
XXV.  29). 

"  Give  not  that  which  is  holy  unto  the  dogs, 
neither  cast  your  pearls  before  the  swine,  lest  haply 
they  trample  them  under  their  feet,  and  turn  and 
rend  you  "  (Matt.  vii.  6). 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  IO9 

"  If  thy  brother  sin  against  thee,  go,  show  him  his 
fault  between  him  and  thee  alone :  if  he  hear  thee, 
thou  hast  gained  thy  brother.  But  if  he  hear  thee 
not,  take  with  thee  one  or  two  more,  that  at  the 
mouth  of  two  witnesses  or  three  every  word  may  be 
established.  And  if  he  refuse  to  hear  them,  tell  it 
unto  the  church :  and  if  he  refuse  to  hear  the  church 
also,  let  him  be  unto  thee  as  the  Gentile  and  the 
publican"  (Matt,  xviii.  15-17). 

[Note,  however,  the  probable  ecclesiastical  origin  of  this 
saying,  comparing  vv.  21,  22,  a  very  different  piece  of  advice.] 

"  Render  unto  Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's, 
and  unto  God  the  things  that  are  God's  "  (Mark  xii. 

17). 
"  Those  eighteen,  upon  whom  the  tower  in  Siloam 

fell,  and  killed  them,  think  ye  that  they  were  offend- 
ers above  all  the  men  that  dwell  in  Jerusalem.  I 
tell  you.  Nay ;  but,  except  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all 
likewise  perish  "  (Luke  xiii.  4,  5). 

"  Every  one  that  doeth  ill  hateth  the  light,  and 
Cometh  not  to  the  light,  lest  his  works  should  be  re- 
proved. But  he  that  doeth  the  truth  cometh  to  the 
light,  that  his  works  may  be  made  manifest,  that 
they  have  been  wrought  in  God  "  (John  iii.  20,  21). 

"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  Every  one  that 
committeth  sin  is  the  bondservant  of  sin "  (John 
viii.  34). 


no  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

"  His  disciples  asked  him,  saying,  Rabbi,  who  did 
sin,  this  man,  or  his  parents,  that  he  should  be  born 
blind?  Jesus  answered.  Neither  did  this  man  sin, 
nor  his  parents ;  but  that  the  works  of  God  should 
be  made  manifest  in  him  "  (John  ix.  2,  3). 

"  But  do  ye  seek  from  little  to  increase,  and  from 
a  greater  thing  to  be  a  less."  (Given  in  the  "  Beza" 
MS.  after  Matt.  xx.  28.) 

"  Good  must  needs  come,  but  blessed  is  he 
through  whom  it  comes."  (Traditional  saying  of 
Christ's.) 


The  Ascetic  Basis  of  Christian  Morality. 

We  have  already  had  occasion  to  allude  to  the 
general  prevalence  of  Monasticism  and  the  Ascetic 
Principles  of  Virtue  over  the  East,  as  being  the 
original  source  of  the  same  practices  in  Christendom  : 
so  astonished  indeed  were  the  early  Jesuit  mission- 
aries in  Cochin  China,  some  three  centuries  ago,  by 
the  many  striking  resemblances  to  their  own  sys- 
tems, that  they  at  once  came  to  the  very  orthodox 
conclusion  that  what  they  saw  was  an  attempt  of 
the  devil  to  imitate  Christianity.  The  fashions  of 
Hindu  ascetics  have  been  most  graphically  described 
by  Mr.  Edwin  Arnold  in  his  beautiful  poem — giving 
an  account  of  Gautama's  Life  and  Work — which  he 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  Ill 

calls  the  "  Light  of  Asia  "  ;  and  we  take  the  liberty 
of  extracting  the  following  painful  passage,  in  illus- 
tration of  their  manner  of  life  : — 

"  Midway  on  Ratnagiri's  groves  of  calm, 
Beyond  the  city,  but  below  the  caves. 
Lodged  such  as  hold  the  body  foe  to  soul, 
And  flesh  a  beast  which  men  must  chain  and  tame 
With  bitter  pains,  till  sense  of  pain  is  killed. 
And  tortured  nerves  vex  torturer  no  more — 
Yogis  and  Brahmacharis,  Bhilshus,  all 
A  gaunt  and  mournful  band,  dwelling  apart. 
Some  day  and  night  had  stood  with  lifted  arms, 
Till — drained  of  blood  and  withered  by  disease — 
Their  slowly-wasting  joints  and  stiffened  limbs 
Jutted  from  sapless  shoulders  like  dead  forks 
From  forest  trunks.     Others  had  clenched  their  hands 
So  long  and  with  so  fierce  a  fortitude. 
The  claw-like  nails  grew  through  the  festered  palm. 
Some  walked  on  sandals  spiked  ;  some  with  sharp  flints 
Gashed  breast  and  brow  and  thigh,  scarred  these  with  fire, 
Threaded  their  flesh  with  jungle  thorns  and  spits. 
Besmeared  with  mud  and  ashes,  crouching  foul 
In  rags  of  dead  men  wrapped  about  their  loins. 
Certain  there  were  inhabited  the  spots 
Where  death-pyres  smouldered,  cowering  defiled 
With  corpses  for  their  company,  and  kites 
Screaming  around  them  o'er  the  funeral  spoils  : 
Certain  who  cried  five  hundred  times  a  day 
The  names  of  Shiva,  wound  with  darting  snakes 
About  their  sun-tanned  necks  and  hollow  flanks. 
One  palsied  foot  drawn  up  against  the  ham. 
So  gathered  they,  a  grievous  company ; 
Crowns  blistered  by  the  blazing  heat,  eyes  bleared, 
Sinews  and  muscles  shrivelled,  visages 
Haggard  and  wan  as  slain  men's  five  days  dead ; 
Here  crouched  one  in  the  dust  who  noon  by  noon 


112  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

Meted  a  thousand  grains  of  millet  out, 

A.te  it  with  famished  patience,  seed  by  seed. 

And  so  starved  on  ;  there  one  who  bruised  his  pulse 

With  bitter  leaves  lest  palate  should  be  pleased  ; 

And  next  a  miserable  saint  self-maimed. 

Eyeless  and  tongueless,  sexless,  crippled,  deaf ; 

The  body  by  the  mind  being  thus  stripped 

For  glory  of  much  suffering,  and  the  bliss 

Which  they  shall  win — say  holy  books — whose  woe 

Shames  gods  that  send  us  woe,  and  makes  men  gods 

Stronger  to  suffer  than  Hell  is  to  harm."     (Page  115.) 

It  was  from  India,  very  possibly,  that  these  strange 
theories  passed  into  Egypt  and  Syria,  where  pre- 
cisely similar  details  are  found  to  repeat  themselves. 
Thus  we  read  of  men  never  leaving  their  cells  for 
forty  years  or  more,  living  on  coarse  bread  and 
water:  of  a  monk  whose  dwelling  was  an  old  cistern, 
and  whose  only  food  was  five  dried  figs  daily :  of 
another  who  never  changed  his  rough  hair  shirt — 
who  never  washed,  not  even  his  feet :  of  another  who 
in  fear  for  his  chastity — his  hands  being  fastened — 
bit  out  his  tongue,  that  the  pain  might  keep  him 
from  temptation :  of  others  who  went  naked  for 
years :  of  some  who  lived  manacled  with  heavy 
irons :  many  in  perpetual  silence :  most  in  indescrib- 
able filth.  Not  unfrequently  in  the  Old  Testament 
do  we  come  across  indications  of  these  ideas :  the 
Nazarites,  for  instance,  were  moderate  ascetics  ;  Saul 
lying  naked  on  the  ground,  in  a  trance,  when  the 
prophetic   spirit    fell    upon    him,    reminds   us   of    a 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  II 3 

Hindu  devotee  ;  Elijah  and  Elisha  were  monks  ;  so, 
too,  to  come  down  to  much  later  times,  was  John 
the  Baptist.  Of  all  these  men  the  ruling  principle 
of  life  was — virtue  through  self-imposed  privation 
and  suffering.  Especially  during  the  many  wars  and 
disturbances  at  the  beginning  of  the  third  century 
B.C.,  was  it  common  for  the  pious,  as  in  the  days  of 
the  prophets,  "  to  withdraw  from  the  world  and  con- 
secrate themselves  to  God  by  Nazarean  vows."  (See 
Polano,  "  Selections  from  the  Talmud,"  p.  211.) 

But  of  the  various  examples  Syria  has  to  offer  of 
ascetic  communism  or  monasticism,  it  will  be  sufifi- 
cient  to  take  the  case  of  the  Essenes  only,  the  larg- 
est monastic  sect  of  Palestine,  whose  earnest  efforts 
to  live  up  to  the  nobler  ideas  of  God  and  duty  that 
were  beginning  to  prevail,  must  now  be  sketched. 

It  was  in  the  second  century  B.C.  that  these  enthu- 
siasts first  arose ;  to  avoid  the  vices  and  pollutions  of 
large  towns  they  lived  in  villages,  chiefly  founded 
by  themselves,  in  those  same  borderlands  which  after- 
wards witnessed  the  birth  of  Christianity.  Our 
main  authorities  for  the  history  and  doctrines  of  this 
remarkable  sect — the  result  of  one  of  those  waves  of 
impulse  towards  purity  and  justice  that  in  later  times 
occurred  so  frequently  in  the  annals  of  Christendom 
— are  the  Jewish  writer  Josephus,  and  Philo.  From 
the  former  we  learn  that  the  Essenes  led  a  monastic 
life  under  the  rules  of  chastity,  obedience,  and 
8 


114  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

silence ;  they  worked  hard,  ate  and  drank  seldom 
and  with  sobriety ;  they  were  extremely  chari- 
table to  the  needy  and  distressed  ;  they  were  gentle 
in  manner,  peaceable,  and  trustworthy ;  they  de- 
clined to  confirm  their  statements  by  oaths  ;  gross 
sins  were  punished  by  banishment  from  their  society ; 
pleasure  was  considered  wrong  ;  all  luxury  was  for- 
bidden ;  slavery  was  not  allowed  ;  the  sabbath  was 
strictly  observed ;  sacrifices  of  blood  were  not  per- 
mitted. They  always  began  the  day  with  prayer  ; 
then  they  worked  to  the  fifth  hour,  when  followed 
ablutions  with  cold  water,  and  a  simple  •  meal,  inter- 
spersed with  prayers.  After  this  they  worked  again 
to  the  dusk  of  the  evening,  when  a  second  simple 
meal  closed  the  day.  They  taught  "  that  bodies  are 
corruptible,  and  that  the  matter  they  are  made  of  is 
not  permanent ;  but  that  souls  are  immortal  and 
continue  for  ever."  Riches  they  despised,  having 
all  things  in  common  ;  marriage  was  permitted,  but 
celibacy  was  considered  "  the  more  excellent  way." 
They  of  course  held  the  theory — apparently  a  ne- 
cessity to  thoughtful  and  religious  minds  entirely 
ignorant  of  the  physical  sciences — that  all  the  de- 
sires and  propensities  of  the  body  are  evil,  and  must 
be  subdued  by  the  severest  mortifications  and  ascet- 
icism. Philo,  in  his  Treatise  "On  the  Virtuous  being 
also  Free,"  gives  the  same  account  of  them;  he  tells 
us  that  these    men  were   originally  poor   and  even 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  II 5 

destitute,  living  in  villages  to  avoid  the  contamination 
of  cities,  refusing  to  act  in  any  employments  con- 
nected with  war,  even  as  makers  of  warlike  weapons. 
Their  sacred  books  "  present  an  infinite  number  of 
instances  of  a  disposition  devoted  to  the  love  of 
God,  and  of  a  continued  and  uninterrupted  purity 
throughout  the  whole  of  life,  of  a  careful  avoidance 
of  oaths  and  falsehoods,  and  of  a  strict  adherence  to 
the  principle  of  looking  on  the  Deity  as  the  cause  of 
everything  which  is  good,  and  of  nothing  which  is 
evil.  They  also  furnish  us  with  many  proofs  of  a  love 
of  virtue,  such  as  absence  of  all  covetousness  of 
money,  from  ambition,  from  indulgence  in  pleasures 
— temperance,  endurance,  and  also  moderation,  sim- 
plicity, good  temper,  the  absence  of  pride,  obedi- 
ence to  the  laws,  steadiness,  and  all  such  virtues  ;  and 
lastly,  they  bring  forward  as  proofs  of  their  love  of 
mankind,  good  will,  equality  beyond  all  power  of 
description,  and  fellowship."  (See  also  Kuenen, 
"  Religion  of  Israel,"  vol.  iii.  chap.  x.  126-136.) 

The  remarkable  points  of  resemblance  between  this 
sect  and  the  early  Christian  Church  have  led  many 
to  imagine  that  there  is  some  mistake  in  the  matter, 
and  that  the  two  were  identical.  But,  since  the  Es- 
senes  existed  long  before  Christ,  our  safer  conclu- 
sion must  be  that  Essenism  and  Christianity  alike 
were  practical  manifestations  of  a  lofty  morality  by 
no  means  exceptional  or  peculiar.     It  is  indeed  quite 


Il6  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

possible  that  the  founder  of  the  later  religion  may 
have  himself  been  an  Essene  ;  but  if  so,  his  wider 
sympathies  and  superior  common  sense  soon  carried 
him  beyond  the  narrow  limits  of  the  sect :  their 
want  of  mental  robustness  and  vigor,  and  total  de- 
ficiency in  missionary  zeal,  effectually  preventing  the 
survival  of  these  amiable  enthusiasts. 


I.  Asceticism  and  Purity. 
Before  passing  on  to  the  quotations  on  this  point, 
we  must  again  call  attention  to  the  important  ques- 
tion of  their  interpretation.  As  all  readers  of  the 
Gospels  will  remember,  many  of  Christ's  words  (taken 
literally)  teach,  or  approve  of,  a  degree  of  asceticism 
which  modern  morality  cannot  but  regard  as,  at 
best,  a  grievous  mistake, — an  attempt  to  do  good  by 
first  causing  an  incurable  harm.  Accordingly,  we 
are  once  more  told  he  did  not  wish  to  be  understood 
literally,  when,  for  example,  he  recommended  severe 
bodily  mutilations  as  a  means  of  avoiding  temptation. 
But,  as  before  in  the  case  of  almsgiving,  history  at 
once  shows  that  this  line  of  defence  is  untenable  : — 
if  a  teacher,  finding  certain  customs  prevalent  and 
generally  respected  in  his  country,  recommends  them 
as  salutary  and  worthy  of  imitation,  he  simply  can- 
not mean  by  that  to  give  a  piece  of  merely  meta- 


CHRISTIAN    ETHICS.  11/ 

phorical  advice.  Only  under  the  stupefying  influ- 
ence of  an  endangered  orthodoxy  would  any  one 
dream  of  imputing  such  an  intention  to  Christ :  for 
it  is  really  to  charge  him  with  a  cruel,  and  even  dis- 
honest action,  since  his  hearers  would  necessarily  re- 
gard his  words  as  implying  approbation  of  the  maim- 
ing, blinding  and  mutilating,  not  to  mention  lesser 
severities,  that  were  being  practiced  so  very  fre- 
quently at  the  time.  Does  not  the  history  of  the 
early  Church  plainly  show  that  they  did  so  under- 
stand him  ;  and,  if  we  bear  in  mind  the  wide  preva- 
lence of  the  Hindu  belief  (common  also  to  Mithra- 
ism)  in  the  antagonism  between  flesh  and  spirit,  and 
that  this  unhealthy,  barbarous,  and  often  revolting 
fanaticism  was  but  its  natural  consequence — is  it 
reasonable  to  feel  greatly  surprised  that  the  same 
ideas  influenced  Christ  and  his  followers?  Indeed, 
would  it  not  have  been  an  almost  inexplicable  fact,  an 
anomaly,  in  the  history  of  religious  and  moral  devel- 
opment, had  this  been  otherwise? 

The  foundation  of  these  ideas  clearly  lies  in  the 
undoubted  power  of  pain  and  bodily  mortification, 
not  merely  to  divert  the  mind  from  sensual  thoughts, 
but,  by  their  weakening  tendency,  for  a  time  to 
prevent  the  recurrence  of  temptation.  Even  at  the 
present  day  such  practices  are  by  no  means  unknown 
in  the  church,  for  it  is  only  natural  that  these  aids 
to  virtue  should   seem  to  minds  that  are  religious 


Il8-  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS, 

rather  than  scientific,  too  valuable  to  be  laid  aside. 
But  very  different  is  the  doctrine  of  modern  science 
(which  Buddha,  alone  amongst  the  reformers  of  the 
East,  seems  to  have  partially  anticipated)  that  virtue 
based  on  asceticism  cannot  be  cultivated  with  ad- 
vantage to  manliness  or  intelligence ;  and  that  to 
make  a  man  pure  by  means  of  mutilation,  by  making 
him  less  than  a  man,  is  an  impatient  and  foolish  in- 
terference with  the  slowly  sure  methods  of  nature. 
The  Talmud  gives  a  legend  of  a  certain  Rabbi 
Matthia,  which  may  be  quoted  as  a  good  illustration 
of  the  strength  of  the  old  doctrine  :  it  will  be  ob- 
served that  the  particular  form  of  mutilation  prac- 
ticed, viz.  blinding,  was  precisely  one  of  those  men- 
tioned by  Christ  with  approbation.  The  story  runs 
that  Satan  asked  for  permission  to  tempt  this  holy 
man.  "  Go,"  said  the  Eternal,  "  and  you  will  waste 
your  time."  Then  Satan  took  the  form  of  an  ex- 
tremely beautiful  woman,  and  appeared  before  the 
Rabbi ;  but  he,  who  had  never  allowed  his  senses  to 
trouble  his  reason,  nor  his  fleshly  nature  to  dominate 
over  his  spiritual,  turned  away  his  eyes  resolutely. 
Still  the  woman  was  as  quick  as  he,  and  again  stood 
before  him  :  do  what  the  Rabbi  would,  she  kept  her 
beauty  ever  in  his  sight.  So  he  called  his  favorite 
disciple,  and  bid  him  take  a  nail  and  make  it  red-hot. 
This  he  thrust  into  his  eyes,  blinding  himself,  and 
Satan  fled  defeated.     Then  the  Eternal  said   to  the 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  IIQ 

angel  of  healing,  "  Go,  and  restore  his  s.ght  to  my 
well-beloved  son."  But  Matthia  refused  the  boon, 
for  he  feared  he  might  be  again  tempted ;  and 
he  said,  "  No,  that  which  is  done,  is  done."  But  the 
Eternal  sent  Raphael  back,  with  the  promise  that 
the  spirit  of  evil  should  never  attack  him  more. 
Then  he  permitted  himself  to  be  cured. 

"  Whoso  looketh  upon  the  wife  of  another  with  a 
lustful  eye  is  considered  as  if  he  had  committed 
adultery"  (Talmud). 

"  In  every  deed,  it  is  chiefly  the  thought,  the 
intention,  that  God  inquires  into,  and  judges." 

"Grant,  O  Lord,  that  we  be  not  led  into  sin,  nor 
into  temptation,  nor  into  contempt :  take  far  from 
us  evil  thoughts,  that  we  may  lay  hold  of  the 
good." 

"Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  to  them  of  old 
time,  thou  shalt  not  kill ;  and  whosoever  shall  kill 
shall  be  in  danger  of  the  judgment :  but  I  say  unto 
you,  that  every  one  who  is  angry  with  his  brother 
shall  be  in  danger  of  the  judgment  "  (Matt,  v, 
21,  22). 

"  Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said,  thou  shalt  not 
commit  adultery:  but  I  say  unto  you,  that  every 
one  that  looketh  on  a  woman  to  lust  after  her  hath 
committed  adultery  with  her  already  in  his  heart  " 
(Matt.  V.  27,  28). 

"  If  thy  hand  or  thy  foot  causeth  thee  to  stumble, 


I20  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

cut  it  off,  and  cast  it  from  thee :  it  is  good  for  thee 
to  enter  into  Hfe  maimed  or  halt,  rather  than  having 
two  hands  or  two  feet  to  be  cast  into  the  eternal  fire. 
And  if  thine  eye  causeth  thee  to  stumble,  pluck  it 
out,  and  cast  it  from  thee  :  it  is  good  for  thee  to 
enter  into  life  with  one  eye,  rather  than  having 
two  eyes  to  be  cast  into  the  hell  of  fire "  (Matt. 
xviii.  8,  9). 

*'  All  men  cannot  receive  this  saying,  but  they  to 
whom  it  is  given.  For  there  are  eunuchs,  which 
were  so  born  from  their  mother's  womb :  and  there 
are  eunuchs,  which  were  made  eunuchs  by  men  :  and 
there  are  eunuchs,  which  made  themselves  eunuchs 
for  the  kingdom  of  heaven's  sake.  He  that  is  able 
to  receive  it,  let  him  receive  it"  (Matt,  xix,  11,  12). 

[A  point  well  worthy  of  passing  notice,  is  Christ's  estima- 
tion of  sins  of  thought — his  classing  them  as  equally  criminal 
with  the  corresponding  actions.  One  difference  they  certainly 
have — you  do  not  harm  your  neighbor  to  the  same  extent ;  for 
illustration  take  the  example  just  quoted  from  Matt.  v.  28.  Hence 
with  us  the  result  counts  for  a  good  deal,  and  is  alone  punished. 
The  other  view  is  touched  with  the  exaggeration  natural  to  a 
reformer ;  for,  even  if  the  disposition  of  the  agent  be  alone  taken 
into  consideration  in  estimating  the  guilt,  a  sinful  thought  can 
rarely  be  so  contaminating  as  the  corresponding  act.  Or,  to 
take  those  hypothetical  cases  of  anger  given  in  Matt.  v.  21,  22, 
is  it  not  rather  in  disagreement  with  our  more  accurate  ethics  to 
speak  of  angry  feeling  now  as  the  equivalent  of  actual  murder 
in  times  past ;  whilst  anger  edged  with  scorn  ("  Racha  "  is  a 
term  of  contempt),  and  anger  deepening  into  hate  ("More" 
implies  condemnation),  are  esteemed  even  more  guilty?] 


CHRISTIAN    ETHICS.  121 

"  Should  any  one  for  this  reason  kiss  (a  woman) 
a  second  time  because  she  pleased  him  (he  sins) ; 
men  must  therefore  act  thus  with  extreme  caution  in 
the  kiss  (of  peace),  or  rather  the  salutation,  as  know- 
ing that,  if  perchance  it  should  be  sullied  by  thought, 
it  would  place  them  out  of  the  way  of  eternal  life  " 
(Traditional  saying  of  Christ's). 

*'  They  who  wish  to  see  me  and  to  lay  hold  on  my 
kingdom  must  receive  me  by  affliction  and  suffering '* 
(Traditional  saying  of  Christ's). 

"  I  know  that  in  me,  that  is  in  my  flesh,  dwelleth 
no  good  thing"  (Rom.  vii.  i8). 

'•  If  ye  live  after  the  flesh,  ye  must  die;  but  if  by 
the  spirit  ye  mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body,  ye  shall 
live  "  (Rom.  viii.  13). 

"  The  place  which  is  on  the  right  hand  is  theirs 
who  have  already  attained  unto  God,  and  have  suf- 
fered for  his  name's  sake.  But  there  is  yet  a  great 
deal  remaining  unto  thee,  before  thou  canst  sit  with 
them.  But  continue  as  thou  doest  in  thy  sincerity, 
and  thou  shalt  sit  with  them :  as  all  others  shall  that 
do  their  works,  and  shall  bear  what  they  have  borne. 
I  said  to  her :  Lady,  I  would  know  what  it  is  that 
they  have  suffered.  Hear,  then,  said  she ;  wild 
beasts,  scourgings,  imprisonments,  and  crosses  for  his 
name's  sake.  For  this  cause  the  right  hand  of  holi- 
ness belongs  to  them,  and  to  all  others  as  many  as 
shall  suffer  for  the  name  of  God  ;  but  the  left  belongs 


122  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

to  the  rest."  (''The  Shepherd  of  Hermas,"  Book  I. 
Vision  III.  15-18). 

"  And  we  came  into  a  certain  field,  and  there  he 
showed  me  a  young  shepherd,  finely  arrayed,  Avith 
his  garments  of  a  purple  color.  And  he  fed  large 
flocks  ;  and  his  sheep  were  full  of  pleasure,  and  in 
much  delight  and  cheerfulness ;  and  they,  skipping, 
ran  here  and  there.  And  the  shepherd  took  very 
great  satisfaction  in  his  flock  ;  and  the  countenance 
of  that  shepherd  was  cheerful,  running  up  and  down 
among  his  flock.  Then  the  angel  said  unto  me, 
Seest  thou  this  shepherd  ?  I  answered,  Sir,  I  see 
him.  He  said  unto  me,  This  is  the  messenger  of 
delight  and  pleasure.  He  therefore  corrupts  the 
minds  of  the  servants  of  God,  and  turns  them 
from  the  truth,  delighting  them  with  many  pleasures, 
and  they  perish  "  (Idem,  Book  III.  Similitude  VI. 
8-10). 

It  would  be  quite  possible  to  fill  volumes  with 
accounts  of  the  revolting  asceticism  that  naturally 
resulted  from  the  application  of  such  doctrines  to 
the  daily  life  of  the  early  Christians  ;  for  they  were, 
as  a  rule,  men  of  small  knowledge  or  culture,  and 
too  amply  imbued  with  the  passionate  devotion  of 
martyrs.  Eunuchism  (a  common  device  among  the 
Brahmans,  and,  indeed,  in  many  other  religions), 
being  commended  by  Christ  in  no  uncertain  terms, 
was  widely  practiced  ;  amongst  others,  Origen,  Valens 


CHRISTIAN    ETHICS.  1 23 

of  Barathis  and  his  disciples,  actually  employed  it, 
whilst  Clement  of  Alexandria  advised  it  as  highly 
virtuous.  Moreover,  directions  are  given  in  the 
Apostolical  Constitutions  that  such  saints  particularly 
deserve  the  prayers  of  the  Church  : — "  Let  us  pray 
for  the  eunuchs  who  walk  in  holiness ;  let  us  pray  for 
those  who  live  in  the  corttinency  of  virginity,  and 
lead  a  pious  life." 

The  whole  question  being  a  very  unpleasant  one, 
and  quite  sufficiently  known — though  its  full  signifi- 
cance is  not  duly  appreciated — it  will  be  enough 
here  to  mention  two  typical  cases  of  this  artificial 
and  worse  than  useless  moral  method,  those  of  the 
early  Christian  saints,  Baradatus  and  Simeon  Stylites. 
The  former,  by  way  of  self-mortification,  so  arranged 
a  block  of  stone  in  his  cell,  already  too  small  for  him 
to  lie  down  or  even  sit  in,  that  he  was  forced  into  a  per- 
petual crouching  position.  His  bishop,  however, 
fearing  for  his  life,  forbade  this  torture  ;  so,  by  way 
of  compromise,  he  passed  his  existence  standing  with 
his  arms  raised  above  his  head — an  exact  copy,  it 
will  be  noticed,  of  a  Hindu  devotee.  Simeon  of  the 
Column  passed  his  life,  as  is  well  known,  for  nearly 
forty  years  standing  on  the  top  of  a  pillar  thirty-six 
feet  in  height.  Chained  up  there,  he  spent  his  time 
in  prayer,  meditation  and  preaching;  and  he,  too, 
imitated  the  Hindus  in  even  refusing  to  kill  the  ver- 
min on-  his  unwashed  body  and  filthy  rags.       It  was 


124  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

natural  that  such  theory  and  practice  should  be 
accompanied  by  an  extreme  contempt  for  personal 
beauty,  nowhere  more  strikingly  shown  than  in  the 
common  belief  in  the  deformity  of  Christ :  a  tradi- 
tion entirely  the  result  of  the  prevailing  ideas,  just  as 
nowadays,  on  the  contrary,  such  a  gratuitous  suppo- 
sition would  only  give  rise  to  annoyance  and  distress. 
Justin  Martyr,  Tertullian,  and  Cyril  of  Alexandria 
were  the  principal  upholders  of  this  foolish  belief : 
the  last-named  actually  speaking  of  his  Master  as 
"  the  ugliest  of  the  sons  of  men." 


II.  Family  Ties. 

In  his  very  plainly  expressed  opinions  about  such 
matters  as  the  Claims  of  Relationship,  Marriage  and 
Divorce,  the  Morality  of  Wealth  and  Poverty,  and 
the  Duty  of  meeting  Evil  by  a  Policy  of  Non-Resist- 
ance, still  further  conclusive  reasons  are  to  be  found 
for  assigning  an  ascetic  basis  to  the  ethical  doctrines 
of  Christ.  But,  before  proceeding  to  the  necessary 
quotations,  we  must  deal  with  two  points,  proper 
attention  to  which,  to  a  great  extent,  frees  his  teach- 
ing on  these  questions  from  that  charge  of  unnatural 
harshness  which  has  too  frequently  been  brought 
against  it.      And   these  are  (i)  the  great  ideal   of 


CHRISTIAN    ETHICS.  I25 

Christ's  Life,  summed  up  in  that  expression  so  often 
on  his  lips,  "  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven";  and  (2)  the 
chief  aim  of  all  his  teaching — namely,  the  creation  in 
men's  hearts  of  an  overpowering  love  for  God  and 
humanity.  The  attainment  of  the  Kingdom  consti- 
tuted, in  his  eyes,  the  whole  duty  of  man.  As  he 
once  said :  "  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Among  them 
that  are  born  of  women  there  hath  not  arisen  a 
greater  than  John  the  Baptist :  yet  he  that  is  but  lit- 
tle in  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  greater  than  he" 
(Matt.  xi.  11).  And  on  another  occasion  he  defined 
what  he  himself  understood  by  this  expression,  by 
telling  his  hearers  that  the  kingdom  of  God  was 
''within"  them  (Luke  xvii.  21). 

Such  was  his  dream  of  human  blessedness — an 
earthly  Reign  of  Holiness  ;  and  the  sole  means  to 
which  he  trusted  for  its  realization  consisted  in  the 
production  of  an  intense  enthusiasm  for  this  divine 
holiness,  as  contrasted  with  what  must,  in  compari- 
son, be  called  mere  virtue  :  the  latter  signifying  a  state 
of  conflict  where  temptations  are  felt,  but  success- 
fully resisted,  whilst  the  other  is  a  state  of  rest — vice 
being  impossible,  because  so  repugnant  to  the 
master-passion  overruling  the  feelings.  Certainly, 
whether  original  or  not,  this  is  pre-eminently  "  the 
secret  and  method"  of  Christ,  and  no  one  had  ever 
insisted  so  strongly  on  the  point  as  he  did.  In  Budd- 
hism, Mithraism,  and  with  the  Rabbis,  the  doctrine 


126  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

existed,  but  entirely  without  the  leading  importance 
that  was  now  distinctly  assigned  to  it. 

By  this  criterion,  then,  the  general  question  of  the 
permanent  value  of  the  Christian  scheme  is  to  be 
determined,  rather  than  by  a  detailed  examination 
of  its  various  moral  doctrines  ;  for  the  ordinary  state- 
ment is  here  probably  true,  that  Christ's  purpose  was 
not  to  lay  down  a  system  or  code  of  ethics,  but  to 
create  such  a  sentiment  of  love  and  enthusiasm  in 
every  man's  heart,  that  each  should  become  "  a  law 
unto  himself."  The  principle  or  spirit  of  his  teaching 
is  undoubtedly  the  most  important  question ;  but  we 
must  not  therefore  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  in  the 
letter,  or  form — as  it  is  called — are  often  contained 
certain  practical  deductions  from  the  principle,  as 
they  appeared  to  strike  its  author  ;  hence  these  cannot 
be  ignored,  as  of  no  critical  significance,  in  the  esti- 
mate we  form  of  the  value  of  the  principle  itself. 

Christ,  then,  was  not  content  with  producing  right 
action,  but  he  desired  such  an  absolute  integrity  of 
feehng  that  wrong-doing  should  be  out  of  the  ques- 
tion, the  lower  passions  and  instincts  being  swal- 
lowed up  by  a  purifying  enthusiasm — an  ardent  love 
for  God  and  man.  Unfortunately,  however,  the 
dry  light  of  science  discloses  a  fatal  flaw  in  this  the- 
ory, in  the  fact  that  it  is  directly  opposed  to  the 
whole  order  and  method  of  nature.  Habitual  mor- 
ality depends  on  physical   organisation ;    and    man 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  12/ 

Starts  from  original  brutality,  instead  of  with  an 
originally  divine  nature,  which  is  what  Christ's  idea 
assumes.  His  intention  was  to  appeal  to  this  sup- 
posed divinity  within  us,  and  awaken  it ;  whereas, 
on  the  contrary,  it  is  to  qualities  that  do  not  yet 
exist  in  us  at  all — to  the  possibilities  of  the  future — 
that  we  have  to  look  for  the  fulfilment  of  our  hopes. 
We  have  a  long  way  still  to  travel  before  the  slow 
process  of  evolution  will  have  sufficiently  eliminated 
the  influence  of  the  old  savage,  or  even  brutal,  taints 
from  our  minds  and  bodies  to  admit  of  this  expected 
permanent  virtue.  Hence  to  go  to  work  by  means 
of  enthusiasm  and  aspiration  is  as  yet  an  Utopian 
dream — an  attempt  to  get  rid  of  the  necessity  for 
centuries  of  crime  and  suffering,  and  to  anticipate  the 
process  of  natural  evolution  by  a  sort  of  moral  jump. 
If  such  a  reformer  meets,  as  Christ  did,  with  dis- 
ciples whose  faith  and  power  is  above  the  average, 
he  will  have  success — for  a  time  ;  but,  when  the 
master  is  dead,  his  followers  will  find  themselves  in 
danger  of  lapsing  from  his  beautiful  ideal ;  will  find 
the  lofty  standard  of  purity  he  preached  far  beyond 
their  undeveloped  powers ;  and  will  therefore  be 
driven  to  seek  the  violent  aid  of  an  intense  asceti- 
cism, in  order  to  keep  their  lives  up  to  the  unnatural 
level  he  desired.  A  virtuous  soul  in  a  vicious  body, 
and  in  spite  of  it ! — that,  in  one  word,  is  their  dream  ; 
of  which  the  outcome  is  a  brief  personal  satisfaction 


128  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

at  the  cost  of  very  serious  harm  to  posterity.  And 
as  for  the  improvident  enthusiasm  which  they  have 
glorified  as  divine,  has  it  not  in  reaUty  proved  to  be 
one  of  the  most  retarding  forces  ever  brought  to 
bear  on  human  progress  ?  "  The  most  melancholy  of 
human  reflections,  perhaps,"  says  a  suggestive  writer, 
"  is  that,  on  the  whole,  it  is  a  question  whether  the 
benevolence  of  mankind  does  more  good  or  harm." 
We  have  now  learnt  to  dread  the  hastiness  that 
invariably  accompanies  enthusiasm ;  it  is  so  apt  to 
blind  us  to  future  interests — even  to  those  compara- 
tively near  at  hand — by  ever  urging  us  on  to  fresh 
attempts  at  a  prompt  and  impetuous  cure  of  our 
present  evils. 

But  the  message  of  science  is  to  be  patient ;  a 
quiet  hopefulness,  more  for  our  children  than  our- 
selves, may  help  us  much,  it  is  true  ;  but  we  must 
be  careful  not  to  be  inspired  by  it  into  setting  up 
mistaken  ideals,  misleading  standards  of  right  and 
wrong,  and  impulsively  longing  for  a  virtue  at  pres- 
ent unattainable.  We  must  not  iinintelligently  inter- 
fere with  the  natural  passions,  not  knowing  what 
their  use  may  be ;  but  accept  an  occasional  outbreak 
as  a  legacy  of  the  past,  only  to  be  finally  and  safely 
got  rid  of  by  slow  degrees.  "  Good  must  needs 
come,"  but  our  premature,  ill-advised  efforts  may 
retard  it  no  less  than  carelessness  or  indifference : 
science  here  is    the    only  divine  prophet,   and    her 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  I29 

teaching  must  be  implicitly  followed.  Let  us  know 
our  limits  then,  and  be  content.  Yet  we  may  love 
these  dreams  of  the  past — (for  are  they  not  a  proph- 
ecy of  the  future  ?) — even  while  we  see  that  their 
realization  is  not  for  ourselves. 

"  If  any  man  cometh  unto  me,  and  hateth  not  his 
own  father,  and  mother,  and  wife,  and  children,  and 
brethren,  and  sisters,  yea,  and  his  own  life  also,  he 
cannot  be  my  disciple"  (Luke  xiv.  26). 

"And  he  said  unto  another.  Follow  me.  But  he 
said.  Lord,  suffer  me  first  to  go  and  bury  my  father. 
But  he  said  unto  him.  Leave  the  dead  to  bury  their 
own  dead  ;  but  go  thou  and  publish  abroad  the  king- 
dom of  God.  And  another  also  said,  I  will  follow 
thee,  Lord  ;  but  first  suffer  me  to  bid  farewell  to 
them  that  are  at  my  house.  But  Jesus  said  unto 
him,  No  man,  having  put  his  hand  to  the  plough 
and  looking  back,  is  fit  for  the  kingdom  of  God" 
(Luke  ix.  59-62,  compare  Matt,  viii,  21,  22). 

[Note,  in  passing,  the  proximity  of  these  two  instances ;  is  it 
not  as  though  the  writer  had  said,- -I  give  these  as  examples  of 
what  the  Master's  custom  was :  they  are  not  special  cases,  but 
typical.] 

*'  Think  not  that  I  came  to  send  peace  on  the 
earth  :  I  came  not  to  send  peace,  but  a  sword.  For 
I  came  to  set  a  man  at  variance  against  his  father, 
and  the  daughter  against  her  mother,  and  the 
daughter-in-law  against  her  mother-in-law;  and  a 
o 


I30  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

man's  foes  shall  be  they  of  his  own  household.  He 
that  loveth  father  or  mother  more  than  me  is  not 
worthy  of  me :  and  he  that  loveth  son  or  daughter 
more  than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me"  (Matt.  x.  34-37). 

"Verily  I  say  unto  you,  There  is  no  man  that  hath 
left  house,  or  brethren,  or  sisters,  or  mother,  or 
father,  or  children,  or  lands,  for  my  sake,  and  for  the 
gospel's  sake,  but  he  shall  receive  a  hundredfold  now 
in  this  time,  houses,  and  brethren,  and  sisters,  and 
mothers,  and  children,  and  lands,  with  persecutions  ,• 
and  in  the  world  to  come  eternal  life  "  (Mark  x.  29, 
30;  cf.  Matt.  xix.  29  and  Luke  xviii.  28-30). 

"And  one  said  unto  him,  Behold  thy  mother  and 
brethren  stand  without,  seeking  to  speak  with  thee. 
But  he  answered  and  said  unto  him  that  told  him, 
Who  is  my  mother  ?  and  who  are  my  brethren  ?  and 
he  stretched  forth  his  hands  towards  his  disciples, 
and  said.  Behold,  my  mother  and  my  brethren  !  For 
whosoever  shall  do  the  will  of  my  Father  which  is  in 
heaven,  he  is  my  brother,  and  sister,  and  mother" 
(Matt.  xii.  47-50). 

"  Call  no  man  your  father  on  the  earth :  for  one  is 
your  Father,  which  is  in  heaven  "  (Matt,  xxiii.  9). 

No  one  surely  can  read  these  passages  without 
being  convinced  of  Christ's  comparative  disregard  for 
ordinary  earthly  relationships.  His  followers  were 
to  exist  only  for  himself ;  they  were  to  be  ready  to 
renounce,  not  merely  rest  and  ease,  and  all  thoughts 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  I3I 

of  a  quiet,  happy  home,  but  even  their  nearest  and 
dearest  friends,  to  break  every  bond  of  union,  to 
sacrifice  all  home  love,  for  the  sake  of  tJie  Kingdom. 
Unquestionably,  in  his  eyes,  the  ties  of  flesh  and 
blood  were  accidental,  external,  temporary — simply  a 
physical  connection.  Family  feeling  was,  for  him, 
only  an  extended  selfishness ;  and  his  followers  were 
bidden  not  to  love  their  own  relatives  especially,  but 
all  men  equally,  because  of  the  Fatherhood  of  God. 
However,  man  cannot  be  remade  to  suit  these  theo- 
logical doctrines:  we  are  essentially  egoistical,  and 
love,  in  consequence,  must  begin  at  home.  The 
natural  process  is :  love  for  one's  family,  based  on 
similarity,  companionship,  gratitude ;  then  love  for 
one's  country — patriotism  ;  and  lastly,  love  for  man- 
kind— humanitarianism  :  only  this  final  stage  has  not 
yet  been  generally  reached.  Out  of  good  fathers 
and  brothers  are  made  good  citizens  ;  out  of  good 
citizens  true  lovers  of  their  race  will  one  day  arise. 
Such  is  sure  progress  by  evolution.  Love  begins  at 
home ;  and  there  it  must  stop  awhile,  if  its  develop- 
ment is  to  be  healthy  and  trustworthy :  sympathies 
too  widely  spread  at  first,  can  never  be  otherwise 
than  vague  and  fruitless.  At  least,  this  is  the  rule 
for  us  of  the  vast  majority  :  a  great  man  is  only  to  a 
very  limited  extent  a  safe  example  for  little  men  to 
follow. 

The  result  of  Christ's   slight  regard  for  the  ties  of 


132  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

relationship  is  seen  in  the  conduct  of  the  monks  and 
hermits,  his  ascetic  disciples.  Too  often,  in  their 
pursuit  of  conditions  believed  to  be  necessary  for 
their  salvation,  they  were  led  into  a  cruel  and  selfish 
disregard  of  the  feelings  of  those  who  loved  them. 
Men,  driven  by  terror  into  austerity  and  hardness  of 
heart,  refused  to  say  farewell  to  a  dying  mother,  or 
to  look  on  a  sister — for  fear  of  pollution  !  What  sad- 
der perversions  of  the  religious  instincts  of  humanity 
are  recorded  ? 


III.  Marriage  and  Divorce. 

"  If  a  man  remain  unmarried  after  the  age  of 
twenty,  his  life  is  a  constant  transgression.  The 
Holy  One — blessed  be  He  ! — waits  until  that  period 
to  see  if  one  enters  the  matrimonial  state,  and  curses 
his  bones  if  he  remains  single  "  (Talmud). 

"  Rabbi  Jacob  teaches  that  he  who  has  no  wife 
abideth  without  good,  without  help,  without  joy, 
without  blessing  or  atonement:  to  which  Yehoshua 
ben  Levi  adds, — (yea)  also  without  peace  or  life. 
Rabbi  Cheya  says  that  he  is  not  a  perfect  man,  for  it 
is  said,  And  blessed  them,  and  call'^d  their  name  man 
(Gen.  V.  2) — where  both  are  spoken  of  together  as  one 
man." 

"  Even  the  altar  sheds  tears  over  him  who  has  put 
away  his  wife." 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  1 33 

"  A  man  must  not  send  away  his  wife  except  for 
the  cause  of  adultery." 

[With  regard  to  the  question  of  Divorce,  however,  the  various 
schools  differed.  Christ's  decision,  given  in  Mark  x.  -12,  is 
tal<en  almost  verbatim  from  the  teaching  of  the  school  of  Sham- 
mai,  between  whose  followers  and  those  of  Hillel  there  was  a 
controversy  on  this  point ;  the  former  maintaining  "  that  a 
divorce  can  only  take  place  when  an  actual  breach  of  matrimon- 
ial faith,  proved  by  witnesses,  has  been  committed ;  but  the  lat- 
ter considering  moral  faithlessness  a  sufficient  cause  to  sanction 
a  divorce  "  (Zipser).] 

"  It  was  said  also,  Whosoever  shall  put  away  his 
wife,  let  him  give  her  a  writing  of  divorcement ;  but 
I  say  unto  you,  that  every  one  that  putteth  away 
his  wife,  saving  for  the  cause  of  fornication,  maketh 
her  an  adulteress  ;  and  whosoever  shall  marry  her 
when  she  is  put  away  committeth  adultery  "  (Matt. 

V.  3i>  32). 

Every  one  that  putteth  away  his  wife,  and  mar- 
rieth  another,  committeth  adultery"  (Luke  xvi.   18). 

"  And  there  came  unto  him  Pharisees,  tempting 
him,  and  saying,  Is  it  lawful  for  a  man  to  put  away 
his  wife  for  every  cause?  And  he  answered  and 
said,  Have  ye  not  read,  that  he  which  made  them 
from  the  beginning  made  them  male  and  female,  and 
said.  For  this  cause  shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and 
mother,  and  shall  cleave  to  his  wife  ;  and  the  twain 
shall  become  one  flesh  ?  What  therefore  God  hath 
joined  together,  let  not  man  put  asunder.     They  say 


134  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

unto  him.  Why  then  did  Moses  command  to  give  a 
bill  of  divorcement,  and  to  put  her  away  ?  He  saith 
unto  them,  Moses  for  your  hardness  of  heart  suf- 
fered you  to  put  away  your  wives ;  but  from  the 
beginning  it  hath  not  been  so.  And  I  say  unto  you, 
Whosoever  shall  put  away  his  wife,  except  for  forni- 
cation, and  shall  marry  another,  committeth  adultery; 
and  he  that  marrieth  her  when  she  is  put  away  com- 
mitteth adultery.  The  disciples  say  unto  him,  If  the 
case  of  the  man  is  so  with  his  wife,  it  is  not  exped- 
ient to  marry.  But  he  said  unto  them,  All  men  can- 
not receive  this  saying,  but  they  to  whom  it  is  given" 
(Matt.  xix.  3-11  ;  compare  Mark  x.  2-12). 

[Note  the  parenthetical  remark,  "  but  from  the  beginning  it 
hath  not  been  so*' — implying  belief  in  the  "  original  innocence  " 
theory  of  creation.] 

The  passage  where  Paul  enters  at  length  into  the 
question  of  marriage,  namely,  the  whole  of  the 
seventh  chapter  of  his  First  Epistle  to  the  Church  at 
Corinth,  is  too  long  for  quotation  here ;  but  his  doc- 
trine amounts  to  this  : — If  a  man  must,  let  him  mar- 
ry ;  but  it  is  better  if  he  can  abstain  ;  and  such,  I 
believe,  was  the  judgment  of  Christ.  (See  i  Cor.  vii. 
10,  12,25.) 

"  And  I  said  unto  him.  What  therefore  is  to  be 
done,  if  the  woman  continues  on  in  her  sin  ?  He 
answered,  Let  her  husband  put  her  away,  and  let  him 
continue  by  himself.     But  if  he  shall   put  away   his 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  I35 

wife  and  marry  another,  he  also  doth  commit  adul- 
tery. And  I  said,  What  if  the  woman  that  is  so  put 
away,  shall  repent,  and  be  willing  to  return  to  her 
husband,  shall  she  not  be  received  by  him  ?  He  said 
unto  me.  Yes  ;  and  if  the  husband  shall  not  receive 
her,  he  will  sin,  and  commit  a  great  offence  against 
himself ;  but  he  ought  to  receive  the  offender,  if  she 
repents ;  only  not  often"  (Shepherd  of  Hermas, 
Book  II.  Command  IV.  6,  7). 

"  Blessed  are  they  who  have  wives  as  though  they 
had  them  not ;  for  they  shall  be  made  angels  of  God" 
(Acts  of  Paul  and  Thecla,  i.  16). 

"If  any  man  can  remain  in  a  virgin  state  to  the 
honor  of  the  flesh  of  Christ,  let  him  remain  "  (Epistle 
of  Ignatius  to  Polycarp,  ii.  9). 

There  is  some  disagreement,  it  will  be  observed, 
between  the  Rabbinical  teaching  and  the  more  asce- 
tic doctrine  of  Christianity  on  this  question  ;  the 
latter,  however,  presenting  a  natural  development  of 
certain  prominent  points  in  the  early  priestly  legisla- 
tion about  marriage,  where  it  is  undoubtedly  regarded 
as  productive  of  temporary  uncleanness  (see  Lev. 
XV.  16-18;  I  Sam,  XX.  26;  xxvi.  4,5).  Hence  it  is 
easy  to  understand  how,  by  later  refinements,  this 
idea  developed  until  the  unmarried  state  came  to  be 
looked  upon  as  of  a  special  holiness.  The  Church's 
view  of  marriage  was,  briefly,  that  it  was  a  painful 
necessity  ;  and  nowhere  is  her  admiration  for  unna- 


136  CHRISTIAN  ETHICS. 

tural  purity  more  conspicuous  than  in  this  connec- 
tion. Tatian,  for  example,  considers  that  Paul's 
somewhat  grudging  acquiescence  is  to  be  understood 
as  only  sanctioning  a  spiritual  union  ;  in  his  opinion, 
any  thing  more  than  this  was  "  to  serve  incontinence, 
fornication,  and  the  devil."  Tertullian  declared  of 
second  marriages,  that  it  made  no  difference  whether 
a  man  had  two  wives  one  after  the  other,  or  both  at 
once ;  in  either  case  it  was  simple  adultery  :  he  more- 
over insisted  on  the  veiling  of  all  virgins,  not  being 
mere  children.  Also  Chrysostom  was  but  giving 
expression  to  the  general  ecclesiastical  opinion,  when 
he  said  of  women  that  they  were  "  a  necessary  evil, 
a  natural  temptation,  a  desirable  calamity,  a  domes- 
tic peril,  a  deadly  fascination,  and  a  painted  ill." 

The  disastrous  policy  pursued  by  the  Church  in 
obedience  to  these  theories,  and  in  complete  misap- 
prehension of  the  amount  and  type  of  virtue  that 
might  be  advantageously  demanded  of  human  nature, 
is  thus  criticised  by  Captain  Galton  ;  "  The  long 
period  of  the  dark  ages,  under  which  Europe  has 
lain,  is  due,  I  believe,  in  a  very  considerable  degree, 
to  the  celibacy  enjoined  by  religious  orders  on  their 
votaries.  Whenever  a  man  or  woman  was  possessed  of 
a  gentle  nature  that  fitted  him  or  her  to  deeds  of 
charity,  to  meditation,  to  literature  or  to  art,  the  social 
condition  of  the  time  was  such  that  no  refuge  was  pos- 
sible elsewhere-  than   in  the  bosom  of   the  Church. 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  137 

But  the  Church  chose  to  preach  and  exact  celibacy ; 
the  consequence  was  that  these  gentle  natures  had 
no  continuance ;  and  thus  by  a  policy  so  singularly 
unwise  and  suicidal  that  I  am  hardly  able  to  speak 
of  it  without  impatience,  the  Church  brutalized  the 
breed  of  our  forefathers.  She  acted  precisely  as  if 
she  had  aimed  at  selecting  the  rudest  portion  of  the 
community  to  be  alone  the  parents  of  future  genera- 
tions. She  practiced  the  arts  which  breeders  would 
use  who  aimed  at  creating  ferocious,  currish  and 
stupid  natures.  No  wonder  that  club  law  prevailed 
for  centuries  over  Europe  ;  the  wonder  rather  is,  that 
enough  good  remained  in  the  veins  of  Europeans  to 
enable  their  race  to  rise  to  its  present  very  modest 
level  of  natural  morality."  ("  Hereditary   Genius,"  p. 

357.) 

The  three  points  that  call  for  special  attention  in 
Christ's  doctrines  about  marriage  are — (i)  that  to  be 
able  to  keep  pure  and  unmarried  was  the  most  excel- 
lent state ;  (2)  that  divorce  was  only  justifiable  on 
the  one  ground  of  adultery  ;  and  (3)  that  marriage 
with  a  divorced  person  was  adultery.  Of  course, 
such  ideas  were  found  impracticable,  and  have  been 
quietly  set  on  one  side  ;  but  as  our  modern  views 
and  English  laws  on  the  subject  are  probably  known 
to  most  persons,  we  will  only  stop  to  notice  a  curious 
semi-recognition  of  their  opposition  to  Christ's  teach- 
ing on  the  third  point.     Any  person  who  wishes   to 


138  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

marry  "  her  who  is  put  away,"  is  quite  at  liberty, 
according  to  our  law,  to  do  so  ;  but  (and  this  is  the 
point  alluded  to)  it  is  also  legal  for  any  clergyman  to 
refuse  to  perform  the  marriage  under  such  circum- 
stances ;  in  which  case  a  more  modern-minded 
minister  has  to  be  found. 

The  present  tendency  in  all  Protestant  countries 
on  the  question  of  divorce  is  only  another  example 
of  that  unacknowledged  but  steady  departure  from 
many  of  Christ's  ethical  doctrines,  which  is  the  nec- 
essary consequence  of  their  essential  impracticability. 
In  England  and  Belgium,  for  instance,  divorce  is  con- 
stantly on  the  increase,  having  doubled  its  average 
proportion  to  marriages  in  the  last  thirty  years  ;  and 
this  is  doubtless,  mainly  due  to  the  growing  convic- 
tion that  it  is  not  right  to  sacrifice  the  happiness  of 
human  life  to  any  ancient  opinions  and  dogmas  what- 
ever. Our  English  compromise,  "  legal  separation," 
would  have  seemed  but  little  less  objectionable  to 
the  Jewish  moralists  than  actual  divorce  ;  and  it  is, 
moreover,  open  to  doubt  whether  there  is  not  more 
justice,  if  for  the  time  less  expediency,  in  the  Ameri- 
can system,  as  it  prevails  in  the  older  and  more 
settled  States.  Twenty  years  ago  in  Massachusetts, 
to  every  fifty-one  marriages  there  was  one  divorce  ; 
now  the  proportion  is  one  to  twenty-one.  Nine  dis- 
tinct justifiable  causes  for  divorce  are  recognized  by 
the  law ;  while  in  the  neighboring  State  of  Connec- 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS,  139 

ticut  there  is  also  what  is  popularly  known  as  the 
"  Omnibus  Clause,"  namely,  that  divorce  may  be  ob- 
tained on  proving  "  any  such  misconduct  of  the  other 
party,  as  permanently  destroys  the  happiness  of  the 
petitioner,  and  defeats  the  purposes  of  the  marriage 
relation."  These  instances  are  mentioned  here,  be- 
cause it  is  undoubtedly  in  the  United  States  that  na- 
tions, common  sense  has  the  best  chance  of  legalizing 
itself,  free  from  the  influence  of  ancient  traditions  and 
customs;  consequently  it  is  there  that  modern  ten- 
dencies most  clearly  show  themselves. 

It  is  interesting  to  notice  the  recorded  development 
of  moral  feeling  on  this  question  of  the  union  of  the 
sexes'.  Beginning  in  the  earliest  and  most  barbarous 
tribes  with  unrestricted  promiscuity,  we  find  this  by 
degrees  improved  into  various  forms  of  polygyny  and 
polyandr}\  Moreover,  whereas  the  abduction  of 
women  was  formerly  a  principal  point  of  honor  in 
marriages,  the  gradual  civilization  of  morality  has  led 
to  its  being  regarded  as  one  of  the  greatest  of  crimes. 
After  marriage  by  abduction  came  marriage  by  direct 
purchase ;  and  now  we  have  arrived  at  marriage  by 
indirect  purchase:  but  "  already  some  disapproval  of 
those  who  marry  for  money  or  position  is  expressed  ; 
and  this,  growing  stronger,  may  be  expected  to  purify 
the  monogamic  union  by  making  it  in  all  cases  real 
instead  of  being  in  some  cases  nominal.  As  mono- 
gamy is  likely  to  be  raised  in  character  by  a  public 


140  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

sentiment  requiring  that  the  legal  bond  shall  not  be 
entered  into  unless  it  represents  the  natural  bond  ; 
so,  perhaps,  it  may  be  that  maintenance  of  the  legal 
bond  will  come  to  be  held  improper  if  the  natural 
bond  ceases.  Already  increased  facilities  for  obtain- 
ing divorce  point  to  the  probability  that  whereas,  in 
those  early  stages  during  which  permanent  monogamy 
was  being  evolved,  the  union  by  law  (originally  the 
act  of  purchase)  was  regarded  as  the  essential  part  of 
marriage,  and  the  union  by  affection  as  non-essential ; 
and  whereas  at  present  the  union  by  law  is  thought 
the  more  important,  and  the  union  by  affection  the 
less  important — there  will  come  a  time  when  the 
union  by  affection  will  be  held  of  primary  moment, 
and  the  union  by  law  as  of  secondary  moment : 
whence  reprobation  of  marital  relations  in  which  the 
union  by  affection  has  dissolved.  That  this  conclu- 
sion will  seem  unacceptable  to  most  is  probable — I 
may  say,  certain.  In  passing  judgment  on  any  modi- 
fied arrangement  suggested  as  likely  to  arise  hereafter, 
nearly  all  err  by  considering  what  would  be  likely  to 
result  from  the  supposed  change,  all  other  things  re- 
maining unchanged.  But  other  things  must  be  as- 
sumed to  have  changed  pari />assu"  (Spencer,  "  Soci- 
ology," i.  788). 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  I4I 

IV.  Poverty  and  Riches. 

There  is  no  more  startling  doctrine  in  the  books  of 
the  Prophets  (and  it  is  even  more  strongly  expressed 
by  the  apocryphal  and  other  writers  who  immediately 
preceded  the  age  of  Christ)  than  that  of  an  intimate 
spiritual  connection  between  such  characteristics  as 
wealth,  impiety,  violence,  wickedness,  on  the  one 
hand  :  and  poverty,  gentleness,  humility,  godliness, 
on  the  other.  This  remarkable  belief  Christ  unhesi- 
tatingly adopted ;  in  his  eyes  riches  were  simply 
"  unrighteous,"  the  pursuit  of  them  being  absolutely 
inconsistent  with  the  service  of  God  ;  and  if  a  man 
happened  to  possess  wealth,  he  had  better  give  it 
away,  or  his  future  life  would  suffer  in  consequence. 

"  I  beheld  the  angels  of  punishment,  who  were 
dwelling  there,  and  preparing  every  instrument  of 
Satan.  Then  I  inquired  of  the  angel  of  peace,  who 
proceeded  with  me,  for  whom  those  instruments  were 
preparing.  He  said.  These  are  preparing  fojr  the 
kings  and  powerful  ones  of  the  earth,  that  thus  they 
may  perish  "  (Enoch  Hi.  3-5). 

*'  Then  I  looked  and  turned  myself  to  another 
part  of  the  earth,  where  I  beheld  a  deep  valley  burn- 
ing with  fire.  To  this  valley  they  brought  monarchs 
and  the  mighty"  (Enoch  liii.  i,  2). 

"  All  the  kings,  the  princes,  the  exalted,  and  those 
who  rule  over  the  earth,  shall  fall  down  on  their 


142  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

faces  before  him,  and  shall  worship  him.  They  shall 
fix  their  hopes  on  this  Son  of  Man,  shall  pray  to  him, 
and  petition  him  for  mercy.  Then  shall  the  Lord 
of  Spirits  hasten  to  expel  them  from  his  presence. 
Their  faces  shall  be  full  of  confusion,  and  their  faces 
shall  darkness  cover"  (Enoch  Ixi.  12-14). 

"  Those,  too,  who  acquire  gold  and  silver,  shall 
justly  and  suddenly  perish.  Woe  unto  you  who  are 
rich,  for  in  your  riches  have  you  trusted  ,•  but  from 
your  riches  shall  you  be  removed  "  (Enoch  xciii.  7). 

**  Woe  unto  you  who  despise  the  humble  dwelling 
and  inheritance  of  your  fathers  !  Woe  unto  you  who 
build  your  palaces  with  the  sweat  of  others  !  Each 
stone,  each  brick  of  which  it  is  built,  is  a  sin." 
(Enoch  xcvii.  13,  14.  Similar  doctrines  are  to  be 
found  in  xlvi.  3  ;  Ixii.  66;  xcv.  4;  xcvi.  6-11;  ciii.  4, 
5  ;  civ.  2,  etc.,  etc.) 

"  If  you  have  given  yourselves  up  to  the  study  of 
the  holy  law,  or,  on  the  other  hand,  neglect  it  by 
seeking  worldly  lucre  ;  then  you  resign,  by  the  pur- 
suit of  the  first,  all  pleasure  of  this  life-;-and  by  the 
restless  striving  after  worldly  possessions,  you  lose 
sight  of,  and  renounce,  the  imperishable  treasures  of 
a  better  world  "  (Talmud). 

One  of  the  Talmudic  fables  also  teaches  that  men 
can  choose  between  earthly  and  heavenly  possessions, 
— but  cannot  have  both.  This,  however,  being  per- 
haps the   least   doubtful   of  all  the   doctrines  to  be 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  I43 

considered,  very  few  quotations  are  necessary :  if 
desired,  those  under  the  headings  of  "  Almsgiving," 
and  "  Other-vvorldliness,"  may  be  consulted,  as  gen- 
erally equally  applicable  to  this  point. 

"  Blessed  are  ye  poor :  for  yours  is  the  kingdom 
of  God.  .  .  But  woe  unto  you  that  are  rich !  for  ye 
have  received  your  consolation  "  (Luke  vi.  20,  24). 

"  I  say  unto  you,  Make  to  yourselves  friends  by 
means  of  the  mammon  of  unrighteousness ;  that, 
when  it  shall  fail,  they  may  receive  you  into  the 
eternal  tabernacles  "  (Luke  xvi.  9). 

"  But  Abraham  said.  Son,  remember  that  thou  in 
thy  lifetime  receivedst  thy  good  things,  and  Lazarus 
in  like  manner  evil  things :  but  now  here  he  is  com- 
forted, and  thou  art  in  anguish  "  (Luke  xvi.  25). 

**  No  man  can  serve  two  masters  :  for  either  he  will 
hate  the  one,  and  love  the  other  ;  or  else  he  will  hold 
to  the  one,  and  despise  the  other.  Ye  cannot  serve 
God  and  mammon  "  (Matt.  vi.  24). 

"Verily  I  say  unto  you,  It  is  hard  for  a  rich  man 
to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  And  again  I 
say  unto  you.  It  is  easier  for  a  camel  to  go  through 
a  needle's  eye,  than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God  "  (Matt.  xix.  23,  24). 

"  When  thou  makest  a  dinner  or  a  supper,  call  not 
thy  friends,  nor  thy  brethren,  nor  thy  kinsmen,  nor 
rich  neighbors  ;  lest  haply  they  also  bid  thee  again, 
and  a  recompense   be   made  thee.     But  when  thou 


144  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

makest  a  feast,  bid  the  poor,  the  maimed,  the  lame, 
the  bhnd,  and  thou  shalt  be  blessed  ;  because  they 
have  not  wherewith  to  recompense  thee :  for  thou 
shalt  be  recompensed  in  the  resurrection  of  the  just  " 
(Luke  xiv.  12-14). 

"  Whosoever  he  be  of  you  that  renounceth  not  all 
that  he  hath,  he  cannot  be  my  disciple "  (Luke 
xiv.  33). 

"  Accept  not  anything  from  any  man,  and  possess 

not  anything  in  this  world  "  (Traditional  Saying  of 

Christ's). 

[Concerning'  this  question,  the  early  Church  never  had  the 
slightest  doubt  about  Christ's  meaning  and  intentions  :  indeed, 
seeing  how  naturally  these  agree  with  the  prevailing  ascetic 
views  of  life,  it  would  be  curious  had  either  his  teaching  or  her 
practice  been  different.] 

"  And  all  they  that  believed  were  together,  and  had 
all  things  common  ;  and  they  sold  their  possessions 
and  goods,  and  parted  them  to  all,  according  as  any 
man  had  need  "  (Acts  ii.  44,  45). 

"  And  not  one  of  them  said  that  aught  of  the 
things  which  he  possessed  was  his  own  ;  but  they 
had  all  things  common.  .  .  .  Neither  was  there 
among  them  any  that  lacked  :  for  as  many  as  were 
possessors  of  lands  or  houses  sold  them,  and  brought 
the  prices  of  the  things  that  were  sold,  and  laid 
them  at  the  apostles'  feet :  and  distribution  was 
made  unto  each,  according  as  any  one  had  need  " 
(Acts  iv.  32,  34,  35). 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  145 

"They  that  desire  to  be  rich  fall  into  temptation 
and  a  snare,  and  many  foolish  and  hurtful  lusts, 
such  as  drown  men  in  destruction  and  perdition. 
For  the  love  of  money  is  a  root  of  all  kinds  of  evil " 
(i  Tim.  vi.  9,  10  ;  compare  James  i.  9-1 1  ;  ii,  5-7). 

This  simple  political  economy  was  honestly  tried, 
and  failed  almost  immediately,  owing  to  its  pro- 
ducing a  crop  of  sturdy  idlers,  to  meet  whose  case 
Paul  laid  down  the  additional  regulation — "  If  any 
will  not  work,  neither  let  him  eat."  (2  Thess. 
iii.  10).  The  fact  is,  Christ  allowed  his  own  intel- 
ligent insight  into  human  nature  to  be  so  strongly 
influenced  by  current  religious  theories,  that  certain 
of  his  doctrines — of  which  this  is  by  no  means  the 
least  important — broke  down  at  once,  from  their 
expecting  a  great  deal  too  much  from  existing 
humanity.  He  overrated  the  results  to  be  obtained 
by  touching  men's  hearts,  and  so  overlooked  the 
counter-influences  of  natural  greediness,  laziness, 
sensuality,  and  the  like.  However,  after  a  very 
short  time,  the  Christian  doctrine  of  communism 
only  survived  in  certain  monasteries  and  similar 
institutions,  which  continued,  with  well-meaning 
stupidity,  to  foster  the  spirit  of  pauperism  and  de- 
pendence. It  is  not  without  much  bitter  experience 
that  we  have  learnt  that  charity  creates  far  more 
poverty  than  it  can  ever  relieve,  and  that  impulses 
to  benevolence  can  only  occasionally  be  followed 
10 


146  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

without  danger  and  even  mischief.  Both  Jews  and 
heathens  ahke  based  their  earliest  attacks  on 
Christianity  on  the  ground  that  it  was  a  political 
revolution,  and  they  argued  that  Christ  had  taught 
utterly  impracticable  rules  of  life  •  nor  does  it  now 
appear  that  they  were  altogether  mistaken. 

Dr.  Strauss  thus  describes  the  ancient  doctrine : 
"  Pernicious  above  all  is  the  pursuit  after  worldly 
goods — nay,  even  the  possession  of  such — in  so  far 
as  one  is  not  willing  to  relinquish  them.  The  rich 
man  in  Scripture  is  certain  to  go  to  hell,  on  the  sole 
grounds,  so  far  as  appears,  of  his  faring  sumptuously 
every  day.  Jesus  has  no  better  advice  to  give  to  the 
wealthy  youth  who  would  do  something  more  beyond 
the  mere  fulfilling  of  the  ordinary  commandments, 
than  to  sell  everything  he  has  and  give  it  to  the 
poor.  Christianity,  in  common  with  Buddhism, 
teaches  a  thorough  cult  of  poverty 'and  mendicity. 
The  mendicant  monks  of  the  Middle  Ages,  as  well 
as  the  still  flourishing  mendicancy  at  Rome,  are 
genuinely  Christian  institutions,  which  have  only 
been  restricted  in  Protestant  countries  by  a  culture 
proceeding  from  quite  another  source." 

The  modern  view  of  the  matter  is  certainly  that 
wealth  means  the  possibility  of  leisure,  without  which 
man  can  make  neither  mental  nor  mechanical  pro- 
gress ;  that  further,  not  only  is  wealth  thus  essential 
to  culture,  but  also,  indirectly,  to  morality  itself — 


CHRISTIAN    ETHICS.  I47 

which  is  but  a  poor,  superstitious  quality  if  without 
culture ;  and,  it  may  even  be  added,  men  need  the 
education  involved  in  the  accumulation  of  property, 
as  tending  to  cultivate  both  industry  and  carefulness, 
in  a  way  no  other  training  could.  "  Blessed  are  the 
poor !  " — possibly,  in  days  of  happy  ignorance,  and 
in  the  kindly  climate  of  Palestine :  but  not  now,  in 
the  civilized  world,  where  such  permanent  poverty 
as  Christ  contemplated,  means  isolation  from  the 
thoughts  and  inventions  of  science,  inability  to  study 
the  great  problems  of  life  and  so  help  on  the  future 
development  of  man,  comparative  powerlessness  for 
good,  and  opportunities  for  little  but  inactivity  and 
suffering.  As  Mr.  Buckle  says :  "  We  are  perpet- 
ually reminded  of  the  evils  produced  by  wealth,  and 
the  sinful  love  of  money,  and  yet  assuredly  no  other 
passion,  except  the  love  of  knowledge,  has  been  pro- 
ductive of  equal  benefit  to  mankind  : — to  it  we  owe 
all  commerce  and  industry ;  industrial  undertakings 
and  trade  have  made  us  acquainted  with  the  produc- 
tions of  many  countries,  have  aroused  our  curiosity, 
enlarged  the  field  of  our  vision,  by  bringing  us  in 
contact  with  nations  of  various  ideas,  customs,  and 
languages ;  accustomed  us  to  vast  undertakings,  to 
foresight  and  prudence ;  taught  us,  besides,  many 
useful  technical  crafts ;  and,  lastly,  endowed  us  with 
invaluable  means  for  the  preservation  of  life  and  the 
alleviation  of  suffering.     All  this  we  owe  to  the  love 


148  CHRISTIAN    ETHICS. 

of  money.  Could  Theology  succeed  in  extirpating 
it,  all  these  influences  would  cease,  and  we  should  in 
a  measure  relapse  into  barbarism." 

Without  the  slightest  cynicism  it  may  be  said  that 
it  is  natural,  and  therefore  right,  that  men  should 
desire  wealth,  and  that  this  is  the  very  basis  of  our 
modern  political  economy.  And  the  system  of  busi- 
ness life  that  we  build  upon  it  is  productive  of  vigor 
and  keenness,  and  on  the  whole  works  well,  evoking 
as  it  does  many  human,  useful  qualities  ;  whilst  any 
attempt  to  go  back  to  the  abandoned  principles  of 
Ebionitism  instead  (and  such  attempts  are  still  occa- 
sionally made)  is  always  a  failure.  What  may  be 
termed  our  Trade  Mottoes — Supply  and  Demand, 
Competition,  Buy  Cheap  and  Sell  Dear,  Get  Rich  by 
Directing  the  Labor  of  Others — are  strange  com- 
ments, if  we  would  but  see  it,  on  Christ's  simple  doc- 
trines ;  but  we  "  better"  ourselves,  by  following  the 
new,  instead  of  the  old,  teaching. 

Closely  connected  with  the  general  question  of 
wealth,  and  therefore  requiring  a  short  notice  here, 
is  that  of  the  morality  of  taking  interest  for  money ; 
or  "  Usury,"  as  it  was  formerly  called.  To  begin 
with,  we  find  any  taking  of  "  increase "  from  a 
*'  brother  "  forbidden  by  the  Jewish  law — see  Exod. 
xxii.  25  ;  Lev.  xxv.  35-37  ;  Deut.  xxiii.  19,  20.  Then, 
as  we  pass  on  through  the  Old  Testament,  this  com- 


CHRISTIAN    ETHICS.  I49 

mand  expands  into  a  condemnation  of  all  taking  of 
interest,  from  brethren  and  strangers  alike — see  Ps. 
XV.  I,  5  ;  Prov.  xxviii.  8 ;  Neh.  v.  7,  9;  Ezek.  xviii.  8, 
9,  12,  13;  xxii.  12.  Christ  uttered  no  direct  precept 
on  the  subject — so  far  as  is  known, — ^^but  doubtless 
accepted  the  most  advanced  moral  doctrine  of  his 
country  on  this  as  on  other  questions  :  the  only  say- 
ings of  his  at  all  bearing  on  the  matter  are  given  in 
Matt.  XXV.  26,  27  ;  Luke  vi.  34-36 ;  xix.  20-24.  But 
in  the  writings  of  the  early  Fathers  (many  of  whom 
explain  that  "  usury  "  means  the  taking  of  any  inter- 
est, however  small),  in  sundry  decrees  of  Councils, 
and  in  the  Canonical  Law,  this  practice  is  most  une- 
quivocally condemned,  and  classed  with  the  deadliest 
sins  :  for  many  centuries  the  Church  continued  to  so 
regard  it.  and  did  what  she  could  to  prevent  its  gen- 
eral acceptance.  By  way  of  example,  a  short  passage 
may  be  given  from  a  sermon  by  the  well-known 
English  bishop,  Jewell :  "  Usury  is  a  kind  of  lending 
of  money,  or  corn,  or  oil,  or  wine,  or  of  any  other 
thing,  wherein,  upon  covenant  and  bargain,  we 
receive  again  the  whole  principal  which  we  deliv- 
ered, and  somewhat  more  for  the  use  and  occupying 
of  the  same  ;  as,  if  I  lend  one  hundred  pounds,  and 
for  it  covenant  to  receive  one  hundred  and  five 
pounds,  or  any  other  sum  greater  than  was  the  sum 
which  I  did  lend.  This  is  that  that  we  call  usury, 
such  a  kind  of  bargaining  as  no  good  man,  or  godly 


ISO  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

man,  ever  used ;  such  a  kind  of  bargaining  as  all 
men  that  ever  feared  God's  judgment  have  always 
abhorred  and  condemned.  It  is  filthy  gains  and  a 
work  of  darkness  ;  it  is  a  monster  in  nature ;  the 
overthrow  of  mighty  kingdoms ;  the  destruction  of 
flourishing  states ;  the  decay  of  wealthy  cities ;  the 
plagues  of  the  world,  and  the  misery  of  the  people. 
This  is  usury." 

But  this  "  kind  of  lending "  having  become  the 
very  basis  of  the  world's  business,  the  Church  has 
now  learnt  to  keep  a  discreet  silence  on  the  matter  ; 
a  complete  change  of  front  has  been  effected,  though 
not  acknowledged.  It  is  not  long  since  we  were 
treated  to  some  clever,  but  rather  unfair,  bishop- 
baiting  on  this  very  point.  (See  "  Contemporary 
Review,"  Feb.  1880.)  On  grounds  of  common  sense 
and  expediency,  the  Bishop  defended  himself  with 
perfect  success.  What,  however,  in  the  face  of  the 
plain  doctrine  of  Scripture  and  of  the  Church,  could 
he  answer  to  the  demand  for  a  religious  justification 
of  the  new  economic  order,  but  that  it  is  absurd  to 
go  to  such  sources  for  instruction  in  political  econ- 
omy? The  retort  is  not  a  new  one,  but,  at  all 
events,  it  possesses  the  merit  of  honestly  yielding 
the  only  real  point  at  issue — namely,  as  to  whether, 
in  practice,  common  sense  is  not  to  be  obeyed  rather 
than  religious  doctrine,  whenever  these  two  come 
into  conflict.     It  would  be  well  if  the  Church  always 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  15I 

recognized,  in  word  as  she  does  in  deed,  this  simple 
truth.  In  any  case,  "  usury  "  is  not  a  question  for 
one  man  to  be  attacked  about ;  it  is  rather  typical  of 
many  matters  which  Christians  ought  to  take  at 
once  into  careful  consideration,  in  order  to  clear 
their  present  compromised  position  from  charges  of 
pretence  and  insincerity. 


V.  Humility  and  the  Non-Resistance  of  Evil. 

"  Do  not  judge  thy  neighbor  till  thou  hast  stood 
in  his  place  "  (Talmud  ;   Hillel). 

"  He  who  curbs  his  Avrath,  his  sins  will  be  for- 
given." 

"  Do  not  believe  in  thyself  till  the  day  of  thy 
death  "  (Hillel). 

"  Be  of  them  that  are  persecuted,  not  of  them 
that  persecute.  Be  thou  the  cursed,  not  he  who 
curses." 

"He  who  humiliates  himself  will  be  lifted  up  ;  he 
who  raises  himself  up,  will  be  humiliated." 

"  Whosoever  runs  after  greatness,  greatness  runs 
away  from  him :  he  who  runs  from  greatness,  great- 
ness follows  him." 

"  It  would  greatly  astonish  me  if  there  could  be 
any  found  in  this  age  who  would  receive  an  admoni- 
tion :  if  admonished  to  take  the  splinter  out  of  his 


152  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

eye,  he  would  answer,  Take  the  beam  out  of  thine 
own." 

*'  Teach  thy  tongue  to  say,  I  do  not  know." 

"If  there  is  anything  bad  about  you,  say  it  your- 
self." 

'*  Not  what  you  say  about  yourself,  but  what 
others  say." 

"  It  thou  hast  done  harm  to  any  one,  be  it  ever  so 
little,  consider  it  as  much  ;  if  thou  hast  done  him  a 
favor,  be  it  ever  so  great,  consider  it  as  little.  Has 
thy  neighbor  shown  thee  kindness,  do  not  Under- 
value it  ;  and  has  he  caused  thee  an  injury,  do  not 
overrate  it." 

"  What  good  soever  thou  doest,  do  it  for  the  sake 
of  thy  Maker ;  boast  not  of  it  to  thine  own  glory." 

"  Doctor — first  heal  thine  own  wounds." 

"  If  thy  companion  call  thee  ass ;  put  on  the 
saddle." 

"  What  should  a  man  do  to  live  ?  Let  him  die. 
What  should  a  man  do  to  die  ?     Let  him  live." 

"  If  any  one  striketh  or  woundeth  thee,  pray  for 
grace  and  compassion  for  the  aggressor,  even  if  he 
should  not  ask  it  of  thee." 

'  Those  who  are  afflicted,  and  do  not  afflict  in 
return  ;  those  who  are  reviled,  and  do  not  revile  in 
return  ;  who  suffer  everything  for  the  love  of  God, 
and  bear  their  burden  with  a  gladsome  heart,  will  be 
rewarded  according  to  the  promise :  Those  who  love 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  1 53 

the  Lord  shall  be  invincible  as  the  rising  sun  in  his 
might." 

'•  Wherever  there  is  mention  in  the  Scriptures  of 
God's  greatness,  his  love  for  the  humble  is  spoken 
of." 

"  Except  ye  turn,  and  become  as  little  children, 
ye  shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
Whosoever  therefore  shall  humble  himself  as  this 
little  child,  the  same  is  the  greatest  in  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  "  (Matt,  xviii.  3,  4). 

"  How  can  ye  believe  which  receive  glory  one  of 
another,  and  the  glory  that  cometh  from  the  only 
God  ye  seek  not?  "(John  v.  44). 

'*  Whosoever  shall  exalt  himself  shall  be  humbled  ; 
and  whosoever  shall  humble  himself  shall  be  ex- 
alted"  (Matt,  xxiii.  12). 

"  When  thou  art  bidden  of  any  man  to  a  marriage 
feast,  sit  not  down  in  the  chief  seat ;  lest  haply  a 
more  honorable  man  than  thou  be  bidden  of  him, 
and  he  that  bade  thee  and  him  shall  come  and  say 
to  thee.  Give  this  man  place ;  and  then  thou  shalt 
begin  with  shame  to  take  the  lowest  place.  But 
when  thou  art  bidden,  go  and  sit  down  in  the  lowest 
place ;  that  when  he  that  hath  bidden  thee  cometh, 
he  may  say  to  thee.  Friend,  go  up  higher :  then  shalt 
thou  have  glory  in  the  presence  of  all  that  sit  at  meat 
with  thee  "  (Luke  xiv.  8-10), 

"  Why  beholdest  thou    the  mote   that  is   in    thy 


154  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

brother's  eye,  but  considerest  not  the  beam  that  is  in 
thine  own  eye?"  (Matt.  vii.  3). 

"  Whosoever  would  become  great  among  you  shall 
be  your  minister;  and  whosoever  would  be  first 
among  you  shall  be  your  servant  "  (Matt.  xx.  26,  27). 

''  Be  not  ye  called  Rabbi ;  for  one  is  your  teacher, 
and  all  ye  are  brethren.  .  .  .  Neither  be  ye  called 
masters :  for  one  is  your  master,  even  the  Christ " 
(Matt,  xxiii.  8,  10). 

"  The  kings  of  the  Gentiles  have  lordship  over 
them  ;  and  they  that  have  authority  over  them  are 
called  Benefactors.  But  ye  shall  not  be  so  :  but  he 
that  is  the  greater  among  you,  let  him  become  as 
the  younger;  and  he  that  is  chief,  as  he  that  doth 
serve"  (Luke  xxii.  25,  26). 

"  Behold,  I  send  you  forth  as  sheep  in  the  midst 
of  wolves :  be  ye  therefore  wise  as  serpents,  and 
harmless  as  doves"  (Matt.  x.  16). 

"  Then  came  Peter,  and  said  to  him.  Lord,  how 
oft  shall  my  brother  sin  against  me,  and  I  forgive 
him  ?  until  seven  times  ?  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  I  say 
not  unto  thee.  Until  seven  times  ;  but,  Until  seventy 
times  seven"  (Matt,  xviii.  21,  22). 

"  Love  your  enemies  ;  do  good  to  them  that  hate 
you  ;  bless  them  that  curse  you  ;  pray  for  them  that 
despitefully  use  you  "  (Luke  vi.  27). 

"  Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said,  An  eye  for  an 
eye,  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth :  but  I  say  unto  you, 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  1 55 

Resist  not  him  that  is  evil :  but  whosoever  smiteth 
thee  on  thy  right  cheek,  turn  to  him  the  other  also. 
And  if  any  man  would  go  to  law  with  thee,  and  take 
away  thy  coat,  let  him  have  thy  cloak  also.  And 
whosoever  shall  compel  thee  to  go  one  mile,  go  with 
him  twain"  (Matt.  v.  38-41  ;  compare  Lam.  iii.  30). 

"Already  it  is  altogether  a  defect  in  you,  that 
ye  have  lawsuits  one  with  another.  Why  not  rather 
take  wrong?  why  not  rather  be  defrauded?"  (i 
Cor.  vi.  7). 

After  making  every  possible  allowance  for  the 
paradoxical  form  of  these  last  precepts  of  Christ's, 
and  his  Apostle's  practical  comment  on  them,  it  must 
be  confessed  that  obedience  to  them  would  have 
some  startling  effects :  to  begin  with,  we  should  have 
to  abolish  our  policemen  and  soldiers,  society's  guar- 
dians against  criminals  at  home  and  enemies  abroad  ; 
besides  stopping  the  whole  system  of  modern  trade, 
money  investments  and  accumulation,  and  annulling 
all  our  fundamental  maxims,  social,  political,  and 
financial.  In  what  sense,  it  may  be  parenthetically 
asked,  can  a  Society  be  fairly  called  Christian,  when, 
if  it  honestly  obeyed  Christ,  it  would  inevitably  and 
immediately  cease  to  exist?  Even  granting  the  con- 
venient assumption  that  Christ  never  meant  half  he 
said,  would  it  be  possible  to  follow  the  principles  of 
such  advice  ;  does  not  our  increased  knowledge  of 
the  world  and  its  laws  rather  teach  us  that  this  non- 


156  GHRISTIAN    ETHICS. 

resistance  theory  would  never  answer?  At  best,  it 
is  but  fostering  your  own  virtue  at  the  expense  of 
those  who  oppress  you  ;  for  such  inaction  is  precisely 
so  much  encouragement  of  their  misdeeds.  And 
here  again  we  have  the  characteristic  flaw  of  ancient 
ethics,  that  in  every  judgment  of  conduct  the  effect 
on  the  agent  alone  was  considered ;  but  there  is  a 
natural  justice — a  special  retaliation  suited  to  every 
conceivable  case — which  a  man  ought  to  do  his  best 
to  bring  about ;  no  other  cure  for  evil-doing  being 
practicable.  Surely  to  allow  a  crime  to  be  commit- 
ted, even  against  oneself,  if  it  can  be  prevented,  is 
immoral  on  the  very  face  of  it  ?  "  Resist  not  him 
that  is  evil ! " — rather  let  us  be  thankful  that  human 
nature  revolts  against  such  a  doctrine,  and  that  con- 
sequently obedience  to  it  has  been  but  the  rare 
exception. 

Consider,  moreover,  the  practical  comment  passed 
by  modern  Christendom  on  this  theory  of  invariable 
non-resistance :  the  largest  armies  ever  maintained  ; 
the  greatest  wars  ever  fought  ;  the  most  perfect  and 
deadly  instruments  of  warfare  ever  invented — since 
the  world  began  ;  the  chief  European  Powers  spend- 
ing considerably  over  half  their  annual  incomes,  and 
between  them  keeping  up  some  six  million  soldiers, 
as  precautionary  measures  against  the  rapacity,  real 
or  imagined,  of  one  another  !  And  yet  that  there  is 
much  to  be  said  in  defence  of  the  principles   that 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  157 

lead  to  such  action,  we  need  go  no  further  than  a 
Christian  pulpit  to  prove.  (See  Canon  Mozley's 
"  University  Sermons,"  No.  V.  War.)  **  There  is 
doubtless  an  instinctive  reaching  in  nations  and 
masses  of  people  after  alteration  and  readjustment, 
which  has  justice  in  it,  and  which  rises  from  real 
needs.  The  arrangement  does  not  suit  as  it  stands : 
there  is  want  of  adaptation  ;  there  is  confinement 
and  pressure  ;  people  kept  away  from  each  other 
that  are  made  to  be  together."  And  when  this 
real  need  of  social  improvement  and  rectification 
arises,  war  must  follow  ;  because  a  status  quo  is  blind 
to  new  wants,  and  does  not  look  favorably  on  the 
proposed  change.  Wars  of  progress  then  are  good, 
as  are  wars  of  self-defence.  The  Canon  goes  on  to 
show,  very  convincingly,  how  war  produces  a  noble 
type  of  character,  and  creates  the  spirit  of  self- 
sacrifice,  and  how  moreover  it  is  itself  elevated  "  by 
the  mingled  effect  of  glory  and  grief."  To  which 
may  be  added,  that  it  creates  a  class  of  men  whose 
business  is  patriotism  ;  and  no  one  can  deny  that 
our  soldiers  and  sailors  are  very  useful  in  helping  to 
keep  that  virtue  alive,  until  the  yet  distant  day 
arrives  when  it  can  be  safely  absorbed  in  humani- 
tarianism.  Or  again,  we  may  look  at  the  question 
from  a  somewhat  different  point  of  view,  with  Mr. 
Ruskin  ("  The  Crown  of  Wild  Olive,"  Lecture  III. 
War):     "  All  the  pure  and  noble  arts  of  peace  are 


158  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

founded  on  war;  no  great  art  ever  yet  rose  on  earth, 
but  among  a  nation  of  soldiers.  .  .  .  There  is  no 
great  art  possible  to  a  nation  but  that  which  is  based 
on  battle"  (p.  99).  And — "  When  I  tell  you  that 
war  is  the  foundation  of  all  the  arts,  I  mean  also  that 
it  is  the  foundation  of  all  the  high  virtues  and  facul- 
ties of  men.  .  .  .  The  common  notion  that  peace  and 
the  virtues  of  civil  life  flourish  together,  I  found  to 
be  wholly  untenable.  Peace  and  the  vices  of  civil 
life  only  flourish  together.  We  talk  of  peace  and 
learning,  and  of  peace  and  plenty,  and  of  peace  and 
civilization ;  but  I  found  that  these  were  not  the 
words  which  the  Muse  of  History  coupled  together: 
that  on  her  lips  the  words  were — peace,  and  sen- 
suality,— peace,  and  selfishness, — peace,  and  death, 
I  found,  in  brief,  that  all  great  nations  learnt  their 
word  of  truth,  and  strength  of  thought,  in  war  ;  that 
they  were  nourished  in  war,  and  wasted  by  peace ; 
taught  by  war,  and  deceived  by  peace ;  trained  by 
war,  and  betrayed  by  peace  ; — in  a  word,  that  they 
were  born  in  war,  and  expired  in  peace"  (p.  105). 


Sanctions  and  Arguments. 
We  now  come  to  a  point  that  is  habitually  ignored 
by  apologists  of  the  higher  religions,  and  as  invaria- 
bly  overstated    by   their   opponents.     As  we   took 


CHRISTIAN    ETHICS.  1 59 

occasion  to  notice,  in  both  Mithraism  and  Buddhism, 
the  ultimate  sanction  lay  in  an  appeal  to  self-interest ; 
a  far-seeing  and  refined  form  of  it,  it  is  true — that 
which  Leigh  Hunt  so  happily  expressed  by  the  term 
"  Other-Worldliness."  A  detailed  examination  of 
Christ's  teaching  shows  that  he  too  used  this  par- 
ticular sanction  twice  as  frequently  as  all  others  put 
together :  a  fact  which  has  often  been  advanced  by 
hostile  critics  as  a  sign  of  defective  morality  on  his 
part.  There  is,  however,  but  little  justice  in  the 
argument.  Morality  depends  upon  two  chief  factors, 
custom  and  knowledge ;  the  one  conservative  in  its 
action,  the  other  constantly  tending  to  change  :  and 
the  truly  moral  teacher  is  he  whose  doctrine  is  on  a 
level  with  the  best  knowledge  of  his  time,  but  who 
in  preaching  it  preserves  a  due  respect  for  existing 
beliefs.  Moreover,  just  as  in  the  education  of  the 
individual,  at  whatever  point  he  may  have  arrived, 
there  is  always  the  danger  of  forming  mental  fat 
rather  than  mental  muscle,  by  giving  him  intellectual 
food  in  advance  of  his  requirements,  so  is  it  with  the 
moral  progress  of  the  race.  To  appeal  only  to  the 
intellectual  appreciation  of  pure  unselfishness,  of  the 
beauty  of  an  ideal  goodness,  would  indeed  be  a  most 
dangerous  plan :  for,  however  well  it  might  sound, 
the  result  would  almost  inevitably  be  vague  and 
empty  sentiment.  Such  sanctions  are  still  ahead  of 
us :    we  are    intelligent  enough  to  be    touched    by 


l6o  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

them,  but  our  moral  food  needs  to  be  simpler  and 
more  modest.  Hence  it  is  well  to  lay  constant  stress 
on  the  advantages  of  virtue,  and  only  occasionally 
employ  such  arguments  as,  "  So  shalt  thou  be  as  the 
son  of  the  Most  High  ;  "  or,  "  Be  not  as  slaves  that 
minister  to  their  lord  with  a  view  to  receive  recom- 
pense "  (Talmud) ;  or  again,  in  the  beautiful  words  of 
Christ,  "  Ye  therefore  shall  be  perfect,  as  your 
heavenly  Father  is  perfect  "  (Matt.  v.  48). 


I.   OtJier-Worldliness. 

"Help  the  poor  for  the  commandment's  sake,  and 
turn  him  not  away  because  of  his  poverty.  Lose 
thy  money  for  thy  brother,  and  thy  friend,  and  let 
it  not  rust  under  a  stone  to  be  lost.  Lay  up  thy 
treasure  according  to  the  commandments  of  the 
Most  High,  and  it  shall  bring  thee  more  profit  than 
gold.  Shut  up  alms  in  thy  store-houses ;  and  it 
shall  deliver  thee  from  all  affliction  "  (Ecclus.  xxix. 
9-12). 

"  Do  right  to  the  widow,  judge  for  the  fatherless, 
give  to  the  poor,  defend  the  orphan,  clothe  the 
naked,  heal  the  broken  and  the  weak,  laugh  not  a 
lame  man  to  scorn,  defend  the  maimed,  and  let  the 
blind  man  come  into  the  sight  of  my  clearness. 
Keep  the  old  and  young  within  thy  walls.     Where- 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  l6l 

soever  thou  findest  the  dead,  take  them  and  bury 
them,  and  I  will  give  thee  the  first  place  in  my 
resurrection  "  (2  Esd.  ii.  20-23). 

"If  thou  hast  worked  much,  great  shall  be  thy 
reward  :  for  the  master  who  employed  thee  is  faithful 
in  his  payment.  But  know  that  the  true  reward  is 
not  of  this  world  "  (Talmud), 

"  He  who  pursues  the  pleasures  of  this  world, 
abandons  the  joy  of  the  world  to  come ;  but  he  who 
resigns  earthly  enjoyments,  shall  partake  of  ever- 
lasting bliss  in  future  life." 

"  In  proportion  to  our  sufferings  in  this  world, 
will  our  reward  be  in  the  world  to  come." 

"  I  will  teach  my  son  the  law  only,  for  one  is 
nourished  by  its  fruit  in  this  world,  and  its  capital  is 
kept  for  us  in  the  life  to  come." 

"  }/[y  fathers  laid  up  treasures  on  earth,  but  I  lay 
up  treasures  in  heaven.  My  fathers  laid  up  trea- 
sures where  they  will  not  profit  them,  but  I  lay  up 
treasures  where  they  will  yield  eternal  fruits.  My 
fathers  laid  up  treasures  where  the  greed  of  man 
could  rob  them,  but  I  lay  them  up  in  a  place  where 
no  human  hand  can  reach  them.  .  .  .  My  fathers 
labored  for  this  world,  and  I  for  a  better  world." 

"  This  money  goes  for  alms,  that  my  sons  may 
live,  and  that  I  may  obtain  the  world  to  come." 

"  Rabbi   Lazar  was  the  almoner  of  the  synagogue. 

One  day  going  into  his  house,  he  said,  What  news  ? 
II 


l62  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

They  answered,  Some  came  hither,  and  ate  and 
drank,  and  made  prayers  for  thee.  Then,  saith  he, 
there  is  no  good  reward.  Another  time  going  into 
his  house,  he  said.  What  news?  It  was  answered, 
Some  others  came,  and  ate  and  drank,  and  railed  upon 
you.     Now,  saith  he,  there  will  be  a  good  reward." 

"  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit :  for  theirs  is  the 
kingdom  of  heaven. 

"  Blessed  are  they  that  mourn  :  for  they  shall  be 
comforted. 

"  Blessed  are  the  meek :  for  they  shall  inherit  the 
earth. 

"  Blessed  are  they  that  hunger  and  thirst  after 
righteousness  :  for  they  shall  be  filled. 

"  Blessed  are  the  merciful :  for  they  shall  obtain 
mercy. 

"  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart :  for  they  shall  see 
God. 

"  Blessed  are  the  peacemakers  :  for  they  shall  be 
called  sons  of  God. 

"  Blessed  are  they  that  have  been  persecuted  for 
righteousness'  sake :  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of 
heaven. 

"  Blessed  are  ye  when  men  shall  reproach  you, 
and  persecute  you,  and  say  all  manner  of  evil  against 
you  falsely  for  my  sake.  Rejoice,  and  be  exceeding 
glad :  for  great  is  your  reward  in  heaven  "  (Matt.  v. 
3-12). 


CHRISTIAN  ETHICS.  163 

"  Take  heed  that  ye  do  not  your  righteousness 
before  men,  to  be  seen  of  them :  else  ye  have  no  re- 
ward with  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven. 

"  When  therefore  thou  doest  alms,  sound  not  a 
trumpet  before  thee,  as  the  hypocrites  do  in  the 
synagogues  and  in  the  streets,  that  they  may  have 
glory  of  men.  Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  They  have 
received  their  reward.  But  when  thou  doest  alms, 
let  not  thy  left  hand  know  what  thy  right  hand 
doeth  ;  that  thine  alms  may  be  in  secret ;  and  thy 
Father  which  seeth  in  secret  shall  recompense  thee. 

"  And  when  ye  pray,  ye  shall  not  be  as  the  hypo- 
crites :  for  they  love  to  stand  and  pray  in  the  syna- 
gogues and  in  the  corners  of  the  streets,  that  they 
may  be  seen  of  men.  Verily  I  say  unto  you  they 
have  received  their  reward.  But  thou,  when  thou 
prayest,  enter  into  thine  inner  chamber,  and  having 
shut  thy  door,  pray  to  thy  Father  which  is  in  secret ; 
and  thy  Father  which  seeth  in  secret  shall  recom- 
pense thee  "  (Matt.  vi.  1-6). 

"  Moreover  when  ye  fast,  be  not,  as  the  hypocrites, 
of  a  sad  countenance :  for  they  disfigure  their  faces, 
that  they  may  be  seen  of  men  to  fast.  Verily  I  say 
unto  you.  They  have  received  their  reward.  But 
thou,  when  thou  fastest,  anoint  thy  head,  and  wash 
thy  face ;  that  thou  be  not  seen  of  men  to  fast,  but 
of  thy  Father  which  is  in  secret :  and  thy  Father, 
which  seeth  in  secret,  shall  recompense  thee. 


164  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

"  Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  treasures  upon  the 
earth,  where  moth  and  rust  doth  consume,  and 
where  thieves  break  through  and  steal :  but  lay  up 
for  yourselves  treasures  in  heaven,  where  neither 
moth  nor  rust  doth  consume,  and  where  thieves  do 
not  break  through  nor  steal ;  for  where  thy  treasure 
is,  there  will  thy  heart  be  also  "  (Matt.  vi.  16-21). 

"  He  that  receiveth  a  prophet  in  the  name  of  a 
prophet  shall  receive  a  prophet's  reward  ;  and  he 
that  receiveth  a  righteous  man  in  the  name  of  a 
righteous  man  shall  receive  a  righteous  man's  re- 
ward. And  whosoever  shall  give  to  drink  unto  one 
of  these  little  ones  a  cup  of  cold  water  only,  in  the 
name  of  a  disciple,  verily  I  say  unto  you,  he  shall  in 
no  wise  lose  his  reward  "  (Matt.  x.  41,  42). 

"  Blessed  are  ye  poor:  for  yours  is  the  kingdom 
of  God.  Blessed  are  ye  that  hunger  now :  for  ye 
shall  be  filled.  Blessed  are  ye  that  weep  now  :  for 
ye  shall  laugh.  Blessed  are  ye,  when  men  shall  hate 
you,  and  when  they  shall  separate  you  from  their 
company,  and  reproach  you,  and  cast  out  your  name 
as  evil,  for  the  Son  of  man's  sake.  Rejoice  in  that 
day,  and  leap  for  joy  :  for,  behold,  your  reward  is 
great  in  heaven  "  (Luke  vi.  20-23). 

"  Howbeit  in  this  rejoice  not,  that  the  spirits  are 
subject  unto  you  ;  but  rejoice  that  your  names  are 
written  in  heaven  "  (Luke  x.  20). 

"  He  that  loveth  his  life  loseth  it ;    and  he  that 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  165 

hateth  his  life  in  this  world  shall  keep  it  unto  life 
eternal"  (John  xii.  25). 

"  Keep  the  flesh  pure,  and  the  seal  unspotted, 
that  we  may  receive  eternal  life  "  (Traditional  Say- 
ing of  Christ's). 

"  Blessed  are  they  who  have  been  persecuted 
through  righteousness,  for  they  shall  be  perfect ; 
and  blessed  are  they  who  have  been  persecuted  for 
my  sake,  for  they  shall  have  a  place  where  they 
shall  not  be  persecuted  "  (Traditional  Saying). 

"  The  Lord  saith.  Ye  shall  be  as  lambs  in  the 
midst  of  wolves.  But  Peter  answers  him  and  saith. 
What  if  the  wolves  tear  in  pieces  the  lambs  ?  Jesus 
said  to  Peter,  Let  not  the  lambs  fear  the  wolves 
after  they  are  dead  ;  and  do  ye  fear  not  those  who 
kill  you,  and  can  do  nothing  to  you  ;  but  fear  him, 
who,  after  you  are  dead,  hath  power  over  soul  and 
body,  to  cast  them  into  the  Gehenna  of  fire  "  (Tradi- 
tional Saying). 

"  I  do  all  things  for  the  gospel's  sake,  that  I  may 
be  a  joint  partaker  thereof.  Know  ye  not  that  they 
which  run  in  a  race  run  all,  but  one  receiveth  the 
prize?  Even  so  run,  that  ye  may  attain"  (i  Cor. 
ix.  23,  24). 

"If  in  this  life  only  we  have  hoped  in  Christ,  we 
are  of  all  men  most  pitiable.  ...  If,  after  the 
manner  of  men,  I  fought  with  beasts  at  Ephesus, 
what  does  it  profit  me?     If  the  dead  are  not  raised. 


l66  CHRISTIAN    ETHICS. 

let  US  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow  we  die  "  (i  Cor. 
XV.  19,  32). 

"  But  this  I  say,  He  that  soweth  sparingly  shall 
reap  also  sparingly ;  and  he  that  soweth  bounteously 
shall  reap  also  bounteously"  (2  Cor.  ix.  6). 

"  We  cannot,  therefore,  be  the  friends  of  both 
worlds ;  but  we  must  resolve,  by  forsaking  the  one, 
to  enjoy  the  other.  And  we  think  it  is  better  to 
hate  the  present  things,  as  little,  short  lived,  and 
corruptible,  and  to  love  those  which  are  to  come, 
which  are  truly  good  and  incorruptible "  (Second 
Epistle  of  Clement  to  the  Corinthians,  iii.  7). 

"  For  if  we  shall  do  our  diligence  to  live  well, 
peace  shall  follow  us.  And  yet  how  hard  is  it  to 
find  a  man  who  does  this  ?  For  almost  all  are  led 
by  human  fears,  choosing  rather  the  present  enjoy- 
ments than  the  future  promise.  For  they  know  not 
how  great  a  torment  the  present  enjoyments  bring 
with  them,  nor  what  the  future  promise "  (Second 
Epistle  of  Clement,  iv.  7,  8). 

"  Let  us  either  fear  the  wrath  that  is  to  come,  or 
let  us  love  the  grace  that  we  at  present  enjoy:  that 
by  the  one,  or  other,  of  these  we  may  be  found  in 
Christ  Jesus,  unto  true  life"  (Epistle  of  Ignatius  to 
the  Ephesians,  iii.  6). 

The  result  of  this  teaching  was  strikingly  shown  in 
the  mania  for  martyrdom,  which  soon  assumed  such 
serious  proportions  in  the  early  Church.     In  the  con- 


CHRISTIAN    ETHICS.  167 

fident  expectation  that  they  were  thus  winning 
immediate  happiness  and  glory  in  heaven,  many 
fanatics  courted  torture  and  death,  until  at  length  it 
became  necessary  for  their  leaders  to  sternly  forbid 
what  in  most  cases  was,  after  all,  a  useless  form  of 
suicide.  The  abuse  of  a  moral  theory,  however,  is 
not  necessarily  a  proof  of  any  inherent  error  in  it : 
we  should  rather  infer  that  it  was  not  adapted  to  the 
wants  of  those  who  thus  misapplied  it ;  and,  bearing 
in  mind  the  general  religious  beliefs  of  the  time,  this 
doctrine  occupies  a  natural  place  among  them,  and 
presents  a  simple  and  appropriate  view  of  the  Divine 
Justice.  "  In  proportion  to  our  sufferings  in  this 
world,  will  our  reward  be  in  the  world  to  come,"  and 
"  Thou  in  thy  lifetime  receivedst  thy  good  things, 
and  Lazarus  in  like  manner  evil  things-  but  now 
here  he  is  comforted,  and  thou  art  in  anguish" — such 
are  the  root  ideas  of  this  childlike  philosophy ;  and 
the  practical  deduction  to  be  drawn  is  morally  valu- 
able, if  not  carried  to  excess  : — Therefore  postpone 
your  present  gratifications  for  a  future,  greater 
advantage  of  a  higher  quality.  Most  animals,  for 
example,  have  little  or  no  sense  of  providence  ;  and 
where  we  meet  with  it — as  in  the  case  of  ants  or 
bees — it  always  strikes  us  as  most  admirable,  and  as 
constituting  a  decided  superiority  over  others  that 
do  not  possess  it.  So,  too,  with  savages ;  those  who 
acquire  this  power  of  foregoing   immediate  enjoy- 


l68  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

merit  with  a  view  to  future  benefit,  thereby  obtain 
a  great  advantage  over  others  of  a  more  prim- 
itive and  unrestrainable  greediness.  It  is  a  distinctly- 
moral  quality,  since  without  it  no  further  welfare  or 
good  is  possible  for  humanity ;  and,  if  carried  to  the 
extent  of  postponing  everything  to  what  is  supposed 
to  be  the  ultimate  good,  it  constitutes  in  all  proba- 
bility the  loftiest  argument  for  right  action  by  which 
average  men  are  capable  of  being  steadily  influenced. 
This  calculating  virtue,  then,  we  must  recognize  as 
necessary  to  our  rudimentary  morality  :  it  is  what  we 
teach  our  children  with  excellent  effect.  ''  Goodness 
its  own,  and  only  reward"  may  be  occasionally 
brought  out  for  our  admiration  ;  but,  if  adopted  as 
a  working  method  for  the  improvement  of  humanity, 
all  its  theoretical  beauty  could  not  save  it  from  prac- 
tical failure. 


II.     Ge?ieral  Terrorism. 


No  one  can  have  thoughtfully  read  either  the 
Epistles  of  the  New  Testament,  the  Apocryphal 
Epistles  and  other  Patristic  Writings,  or  (to  come 
down  to  modern  times,  when  the  tendency  has  grown 
by  use)  defences  and  eulogies  of  the  Faith,  without 
being  struck  by  frequent  cases  of  what  may  be  termed 
accumulative  exaggeration.     Passionate  feeling  can 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  169 

never  be  judicial :  its  impulse,  when  uttering  the 
praises  of  what  it  loves,  is  to  outdo  all  former  efforts ; 
and,  in  such  competition,  who  can  reasonably  expect 
a  well-balanced  statement  of  facts  ?  Is  not  the 
result  generally  a  mere  mass  of  words,  casting  a 
shadow  on  the  truth  ?  But  this  style  of  writing  has 
great  influence  over  others  of  like  opinions  and 
impressionability :  sentiment  creates  sentiment ;  and 
as  yet,  in  the  case  of  Christianity,  only  a  very  slight 
reaction  has  set  in.  To  quote  a  recent  example  of 
this  laying  on  of  words — and  that  it  is  a  fair  type  of 
its  kind  all  who  read  it  will  allow  :  "  The  essence  of 
the  Gospel  is  the  love  of  God  to  man,  stretching 
over  all,  infinitely  great,  inexhaustibly  rich  even  to 
the  most  sinful,  a  redeeming  love  that  goes  forth  to 
seek  and  save,  that  cannot  rest  till  it  has  brought 
back  the  wandering,  that  will  not  suffer  one — not 
even  the  least — to  be  lost,  the  love  of  a  father  that 
cannot  and  will  not  suffer  the  loss  of  one  single 
child."  Now,  without  stopping  to  inquire  whether 
such  paternal  affection  is  so  very  remarkable — or 
whether  to  take  care  of  "  the  least"  is  not  precisely 
what  a  father  would  first  think  of  doing — we  would 
call  attention  to  the  point  that,  to  a  great  extent,  it 
is  this  massing  of  uncritical  sentiment  which  deter- 
mines the  current  belief  in  the  superiority  of  Chris- 
tianity to  other  religions,  although  the  application  of 
similar  advocacy  to  some  of  these  might  be  employed 


I/O  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS, 

with  equal  justice  and  no  less  effect.  And  who,  that 
did  not  know  it,  would  imagine  that  one  of  the  chief 
doctrines  developed  by  the  religion  so  described  is 
that  this  loving  Father  created  the  world  with  the 
certain  foreknowledge  that  a  vast  majority  of  these 
*'  children"  were  doomed  to  an  eternity  of  suffering 
of  the  most  awful  character?  "  If  there  be  any  doc- 
trine ever  taught  in  the  name  of  Christianity  which 
can  claim  to  be  really  Catholic,  it  is  the  doctrine  of 
never-ending  punishment.  This  has  been  believed 
by  the  majority  of  Christians  in  all  ages,  in  all 
churches,  and,  with  very  insignificant  exceptions,  of 
all  sects.  Fathers,  schoolmen,  and  reformers,  zealous 
Roman  Catholics  and  ardent  Protestants,  have  agreed 
that  this  is  an  undeniable  portion  of  the  Catholic 
faith.  We  cannot  deny  that  it  is  a  Catholic  doc- 
trine, but  is  it  Christian  ?  Dr.  Farrar  says  that  the 
Scriptures,  interpreted  in  the  light  of  '  modern  crit- 
icism,' are  '  absolutely  silent '  as  to  *  endless  tor- 
ture.' Like  transubstantiation  and  many  other 
Catholic  doctrines,  it  is  founded  on  taking  literally 
words  which  were  never  intended  to  have  a  literal 
meaning,"  (Dr.  Hunt,  Article  on  Eternal  Punish- 
ment, "Contemporary  Review,"  April  1878). 

It  is  indeed  an  instructive  fact  that  historical 
Christianity  not  only  has  recourse  to  a  general 
"  other-worldly  "  line  of  argument,  in  this  resembling 
the  majority  of  religious  systems,  but   also   conde- 


CHRISTIAN    ETHICS.  I7I 

scends  to  such  downright  terrorism.  The  founda- 
tion of  all  religion  for  savages,  and  to  some  extent, 
therefore,  for  their  near  descendants,  must  be  fear ; 
love  is  too  late  an  arrival  and,  consequently,  insuf- 
ficiently developed  to  replace  it :  and  so  it  is  not 
altogether  surprising  to  find  Christ  and  his  followers 
represented  as  appealing  to  men's  fears  far  more  fre- 
quently than  to  their  affections.  Even  at  the  present 
day,  it  must  be  allowed  that  the  large  body  of  relig- 
ious Philistines  are  by  no  means  without  reason,  when 
they  argue  that  to  deprive  most  people  of  their  faith 
in  hell  would  be  to  take  away  their  best  chance  of 
salvation  ;  in  other  words,  that  men  must  be  scared 
into  heaven,  or  they  probably  will  not  get  there  at 
all.  We  should  also  consider,  in  further  excuse  of  the 
Church's  policy,  the  great  difficulty  there  is  in  clearly 
and  satisfactorily  describing  the  permanent  pleasures 
of  the  future  life.  The  attractiveness  of  golden  harps 
and  jewelled  pavements  can  hardly  last  forever  • 
whilst,  for  men  of  slight  knowledge  or  cultivation, 
an  eternity  of  mental  development  and  occupation  is 
wholly  unimaginable.  Hence,  owing  to  the  difficulty 
of  representing  the  one  alternative  as  permanently 
desirable,  it  was  the  more  necessary  to  insist  on  the 
fearful  horrors  of  the  other.  Without  this  the  hold  of 
the  Christian  Church  over  the  barbarians  of  Central 
and  Northern  Europe  would  probably  have  been  but 
precarious. 


172  CHRISTIAN    ETHICS. 

In  order  to  ascertain  the  real  doctrine  of  Christ  and 
his  apostles  on  this  question,  we  would  suggest  that 
it  is,  as  usual,  merely  necessary  to  ask  what  was  that 
of  the  highest  morality  of  their  time.  On  such  a  very 
vital  point  of  ecclesiastical  policy  the  Gospels  may, 
or  may  not,  give  an  unbiassed  version  of  Christ's  say- 
ings ;  yet  so  much  the  more  conclusively,  on  this 
very  account,  does  it  appear  that  his  attitude  towards 
the  whole  question  of  future  punishment  was  prac- 
tically the  same  as  that  of  thousands  of  kindly,  edu- 
cated men  and  women  at  the  present  day.  They  do 
not  allow  themselves  to  dwell  on  the  subject :  there 
it  is,  an  article  of  faith,  it  is  true,  but  one  to  be  kept 
as  much  out  of  thought  as  possible,  on  a  back  shelf 
of  the  mind. 

The  natural  history  of  the  theory  is  probably  this. 
Private  revenge  being  gradually  abandoned  as  men 
became  more  civilized — and  the  perplexing  fact  that 
many  sinners  were  prosperous  and  happy,  being  duly 
observed  and  commented  on — men's  natural  sense  of 
justice  demanded  a  belief  in  a  future  divine  retalia- 
tion for  sin,  whether  committed  directly  against  the 
Deity  or  not : — "  Vengeance  is  mine  ;  I  will  repay, 
saith  the  Lord."  But  the  conception  of  such  a  purely 
scientific  idea  as  the  universal  rule  of  cause  and  effect 
being  then  impossible,  the  supposed  punishment  was 
an  arbitrary  one,  and  not  in  direct  natural  conse- 
quence of  the  particular  evil  committed.     Moreover, 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  I73 

to  understand  the  apparent  injustice  of  an  almost 
infinite  retribution  for  sometimes  trivial  offences,  we 
should  bear  in  mind  the  political  surroundings  in  the 
midst  of  which  these  doctrines  originated :  that  it 
was  among  nations  accustomed  to  absolute  despotism, 
who  thought  no  tortures  too  severe  for  the  wretch 
who  dared  to  say  or  do  anything  against  his  rulers ; 
the  distance  between  monarch  and  people  appearing, 
by  universal  consent,  to  immeasurably  enhance  the 
guiltiness  of  such  conduct.  Even  now,  traces  of  the 
same  idea  may  be  detected ;  justifiable  perhaps  on 
grounds  of  political  expediency,  but  none  the  less 
utterly  opposed  to  a  perfect  morality.  Hence,  by  a 
logical  extension,  all  sin  against  the  Deity  came  to 
be  regarded  as  infinite,  and  men  set  their  imagina- 
tions to  work  to  devise  duly  severe  punishment  for 
the  sinners.  A  similar  development  from  the  exag- 
gerated professions  of  inferiority  and  servitude,  so 
frequent  in  early  ceremonialism,  may  be  observed  in 
various  expressions  common  to  religious  humility; 
as,  for  example — "  Even  so  ye  also,  when  ye  shall 
have  done  all  the  things  that  are  commanded  you, 
say,  We  are  unprofitable  servants ;  we  have  done 
that  which  it  was  our  duty  to  do"  (Luke  xvii.  10). 
Is  not  this  simply  the  language  of  slavish  propitia- 
tion ?  Does  it  not  depict  God  as  a  tyrant,  exacting 
the  utmost  service  as  his  simple  right,  and  then  feel- 
ing no  satisfaction  in,  nor  gratitude  for,  such  faithful 


174  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

efforts  to  please  him?  Let  those  believe  who  will, 
that  these  words  were  ever  spoken  by  Christ.  And, 
similarly,  do  not  the  ordinary  books  of  devotion 
abound  in  strained  expressions  of  morbid  humility 
and  self-accusation,  savoring  far  more  of  cringing 
obsequiousness  before  a  dangerous  Despot,  than  of 
the  frankness  and  trust  with  which  a  son  should 
greet  his  loving  Father  ? 

The  following  is  a  good  specimen  of  early  terror- 
ism, none  the  less  interesting  from  the  fact  of  its 
being  nearly  five  thousand  years  old :  "  The  wicked 
will  not  see  the  countenance  of  the  Lord  of  Heaven, 
nor  ever  hear  his  voice ;  they  will  go  about  without 
heads ;  drag  after  them  their  hearts ;  be  boiled  for 
ever  in  a  cauldron  ;  be  hanged  for  ever  by  their  legs." 
Such  was  the  Egyptian  theory  on  this  question  ;  but 
we  also  find  the  same  doctrine  of  excessive  punish- 
ment prevalent  in  India,  and  in  Persia — where  Mith- 
raism  distinctly  taught  belief  in  a  devil,  in  hell,  and 
in  lasting  torments.  Before,  however,  passing  on  to 
the  quotations  needed  for  the  examination  of  this 
"  gospel  of  hell-fire,"  there  are  one  or  two  expressions 
of  general  terrorism,  which,  on  account  of  their  very 
serious  consequences,  should  not  be  entirely  passed 
by. 

"Five  have  no  forgiveness  of  sins:  (i)  He  who 
keeps  on  sinning  and  repenting  alternately ;  (2)  He 
who  sins  in  a  sinless  age ;  (3)  He  who  sins  on  pur- 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  1^5 

pose  to  repent ;  (4)  He  who  causes  the  name  of  God 
to  be  blasphemed."  (The  Talmud  does  not  specify 
the  fifth  case). 

"  Every  sin  and  blasphemy  shall  be  forgiven  unto 
men  ;  but  the  blasphemy  against  the  spirit  shall  not 
be  forgiven  "    (Matt.  xii.  31). 

[Seeing  how  valueless  these  words  are  from  their  mysterious 
vagueness,  we  can  but  regret  that  they  were  reported — if  indeed 
they  were  ever  spoken  by  Christ  at  all — when  we  think  of  the 
many  weak-minded  sufferers  who  have  died  in  agony  under  the 
terror  they  have  inspired.] 

"And  I  say  unto  you,  that  every  idle  word  that 
men  shall  speak,  they  shall  give  account  thereof  in 
the  day  of  judgment.  For  by  thy  words  thou  shalt 
be  justified,  and  by  thy  words  thou  shalt  be  con- 
demned "  (Matt.  xii.  36,  37). 


III.    Hell. 


"  And  he  answered  me,  saying.  The  Most  High 
hath  made  this  world  for  many,  but  the  world  to 
come  for  few.  .  .  .  There  be  many  created,  but  few 
shall  be  saved.  ...  I  have  said  before,  and  now  do 
speak,  and  will  speak  it  also  hereafter,  that  there  be 
many  more  of  them  which  perish  than  of  them  which 
shall  be  saved  ;  like  as  a  wave  is  greater  than  a  drop." 
(2  Esd.  viii.  i,  3  ;  ix.  15,  16). 

"  Moreover  abundant  is  their  suffering  until  the 


176  CHRISTIAN  ETHICS. 

time  of  the  great  judgment,  the  castigation,  and  the 
torment  of  those  who  eternally  execrate,  whose-  souls 
^re  punished  and  bound  there  for  ever.  And  thus 
has  it  been  from  the  beginning  of  the  world.  Thus 
has  there  existed  a  separation  between  the  souls  of 
those  who  utter  complaints,  and  of  those  who  watch 
for  their  destruction,  to  slaughter  them  in  the  day  of 
sinners.  Thus  has  it  been  made  for  the  souls  of 
unrighteous  men,  and  of  sinners ;  of  those  who  have 
completed  crime,  and  associated  with  the  impious, 
whom  they  resemble.  Their  souls  shall  not  be  anni- 
hilated in  the  day  of  judgment,  neither  shall  they 
arise  from  this  place  "  (Enoch  xxii.  11-14;  compare 
xxvi.  I,  2). 

"  Woe  to  you  sinners,  when  you  die  in  your  s-ins ; 
and  they,  who  are  like  you,  say  respecting  you, 
Blessed  are  these  sinners.  They  have  seen  all  their 
days ;  and  now  they  die  in  goodness  and  in  wealth. 
Distress  and  slaughter  they  saw  not  while  alive  ;  in 
honor  they  die  ;  nor  ever  in  their  lifetime  did  judg- 
ment overtake  them.  (But)  has  it  not  been  shown 
to  them,  that,  (when)  to  the  receptacle  of  the  dead 
their  souls  shall  be  made  to  descend,  their  evil  deeds 
shall  become  their  greatest  torment  ?  Into  darkness, 
into  the  snare,  and  into  the  flame,  which  shall  burn 
to  the  great  judgment,  shall  their  spirits  enter;  and 
the  great  judgment  shall  be  for  every  generation, 
even  for  ever  "  (Enoch  ciii.  4,  5)- 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  I// 

Dr.- Lightfoot  explains  that  "the  Jews  do  very 
usually  express  hell,  or  the  place  of  the  damned,  by 
the  word  Gehinnom,  which  might  be  shown  in  infinite 
examples ;  the  manner  of  speech  being  taken  from 
the  valley  of  Hinnorn,  a  place  infamous  for  foul  idola- 
try committed  there ;  for  the  bowlings  ot  infants 
roasted  to  Moloch,  filth  carried  out  thither,  and  for 
a  fire  that  always  was  burning :  and  so  most  fit  to 
represent  the  horror  of  hell."  Perhaps  the  best 
example  of  this  imagery  in  the  Old  Testament  is  the 
passage  in  Isaiah  Ixvi.  24 : — 

"  Then  shall  they  go  forth  and  see 
The  dead  bodies  of  the  men  that  rebelled  against  me ; 
For  their  worm  shall  not  die, 
And  their  fire  shall  not  be  quenched. 
And  they  shall  be  an  abhorrence  to  all  flesh." 

Concerning  the  doctrine  of  the  Talmud  on  this 
point.  Dr.  Deutsch  wrote  in  his  "  Quarterly  "  Article 
(Oct.  1867,  p.  459):  "There  is  no  everlasting  dam- 
nation according  to  the  Talmud.  There  is  only  a 
temporary  punishment  even  for  the  worst  sinners. 
Generations  upon  generations  shall  last  the  damna- 
tion of  idolaters,  apostates,  and  traitors.  But  there 
is  a  space  of  only  two  fingers'  breadth  between  Hell 
and  Heaven — the  sinner  has  but  to  repent  sincerely, 
and  the  gates  to  everlasting  bliss  will  spring  open. 
Every  man,  of  whatever  creed  or  nation,  provided  he 
be  of  the  righteous,  shall  be  admitted  into  it.  The 
12 


178  CHRISTIAN  ETHICS. 

punishment  of  the  wicked  is  not  specified,  as  indeed 
all  the  descriptions  of  the  next  world  are  left  vague." 
Also  Chief  Rabbi  Adler  (quoted  by  Dr.  Farrar), 
states  that  "  the  Jews  do  not  possess  any  authorized 
dogmatic  teaching  on  the  subject  of  endless  punish- 
ment." Some  ancient  Rabbis  held  that  the  worst 
sinners  were  to  be  punished  in  torture  until  the  day 
of  resurrection,  and  were  then  to  be  annihilated. 

"The  sinners  of  Israel  and  the  sinners  of  the  Gen- 
tiles shall  descend  with  the  body  into  Gehenna,  and 
for  twelve  months  shall  be  condemned  in  it ;  at  the 
end  of  twelve  months  the  body  shall  be  consumed, 
and  the  soul  burned  up,  and  the  wind  shall  scatter  it 
under  the  feet  of  the  just "  (Talmud). 

"  The  judgment  of  the  ungodly  is  for  twelve 
months." 

"  God  hath  prepared  Gehenna  for  the  ungodly  who 
transgress  his  commandments." 

"  In  Gehenna  the  fire  is  kindled  every  day." 

"  The  impious  shall  be  burned  up  by  the  heat  of 
the  sun." 

"  Wide  is  the  gate  and  broad  is  the  way  that  lead- 
eth  to  destruction,  and  many  be  they  that  enter  in 
thereby.  For  narrow  is  the  gate,  and  straightened 
the  way,  that  leadeth  unto  life,  and  few  be  they  that 
find  it"  (Matt.  vii.  13,  14). 

"  Be  not  afraid  of  them  which  kill  the  body,  but 
are  not  able  to  kill  the  soul :  but  rather  fear  him 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  lyg 

which  is  able  to  destroy  both  soul  and  body  in  hell " 
(Matt.  X.  28). 

"  It  is  good  for  thee  to  enter  into  life  maimed  and 
halt,  rather  than  having  two  hands  or  two  feet  to  be 
cast  into  the  eternal  fire  "  (Matt,  xviii.  8). 

"And  in  Hades  he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  being  in 
torments,  and  seeth  Abraham  afar  off,  and  Lazarus 
in  his  bosom.  And  he  cried  and  said.  Father  Abra- 
ham, have  mercy  on  me,  and  send  Lazarus,  that  he 
may  dip  the  tip  of  his  finger  in  water,  and  cool  my 
tongue ;  for  I  am  in  anguish  in  this  flame.  But 
Abraham  said.  Son,  remember  that  thou  in  thy  life- 
time receivedst  thy  good  things,  and  Lazarus  in  like 
manner  evil  things :  but  now  here  he  is  comforted, 
and  thou  art  in  anguish.  And  besides  all  this, 
between  us  and  you  there  is  a  great  gulf  fixed,  that 
they  which  would  pass  from  hence  to  you  may  not 
be  able,  and  that  none  may  cross  over  from  thence  to 
us  "  (Luke  xvi.  23-26). 

"  And  that  servant  which  knew  his  lord's  will,  and 
made  not  ready,  nor  did  according  to  his  will,  shall 
be  beaten  with  many  stripes ;  but  he  that  knew  not, 
and  did  things  worthy  of  stripes,  shall  be  beaten  with 
few  stripes"  (Luke  xii.  47,  48). 

"  Then  shall  he  say  also  unto  them  on  the  left 
hand,  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  the  eternal 
fire  which  is  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels. 
....  And  these  shall  go  away  into  eternal  punish- 


r8b  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

ment :  but  the  righteous  into  eternal  life "  (Matt. 
XXV.  41,  46;  compare  also  xiii.  41,  Mark  ix.  43-48, 
Jude  7,  Rev.  xiv.  11,  xx.  8-15). 

This  last  passage  owes  much  of  its  apparent  plain- 
ness to  the  rather  misleading  term  "  eternal,"  which 
the  Revisers  of  the  New  Testament  have,  in  their 
excessive  caution,  retained  as  the  equivalent  of  a 
Greek  word  signifying  a  great,  but  indefinite,  dura- 
tion of  time.  Seeing,  however,  what  the  Rabbinical 
doctrine  was,  we  need  not  hesitate  to  say  that  Christ 
most  certainly  held  that  the  future  punishment  for 
sin  would  neither  last  for  ever,  nor  be  in  any  way 
unduly  severe ;  allowing  of  course  for  Eastern  ideas 
of  what  due  severity  in  such  a  matter  would  be. 

It  was  only  amongst  men  habituated  to  the  sight 
of  intense  suffering,  as  so  many  of  the  early  Fathers 
of  the  Church  were,  partly  owing  to  their  pagan  sur- 
roundings, but  very  largely  also  to  their  own  ascetic 
practices,  that  the  later  explicit  doctrine  of  terrorism 
could  be  fully  elaborated  ;  and  that  this  is  no  mere 
hypothesis  is  shown  by  the  zest  with  which  some  of 
these  writers  argue  that  the  sight  of  the  tortures  of 
hell  will  constitute  one  of  the  chief  joys  of  heaven. 
Tertullian,  for  example  ("  De  Spectaculis,"  cap,  xxx.), 
says  that  the  spectacle  to  be  enjoyed  by  Christians 
hereafter  will  be  so  fascinating  that  the  gayest 
earthly  festivals  are  as  nothing  in  comparison :  this 
supreme  amusement  being   simply   to   witness   the 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  l8l 

agonies  of  the  damned !  These  fancies,  of  course, 
took  time  to  develop :  men  only  slowly  grow  to  the 
idea  of  extreme  suffering ;  but  then  "  the  first  repul- 
sion is  soon  exchanged  for  indifference,  the  indiffer- 
ence speedily  becomes  interest,  and  the  interest  is 
occasionally  heightened  to  positive  enjoyment." 
And  so  we  need  not  be  surprised  to  find  that  the 
Church  has,  at  times,  taught  as  simple  truisms, 
recommending  themselves  naturally  to  men's  feelings, 
what  we  now  view  with  the  utmost  disgust  and  hor- 
ror; indeed,  the  believer  in  evolution  would  be  rather 
perplexed  had  it  been  otherwise.  There  is,  probably, 
hardly  an  educated  man  living  in  England  who  would 
not,  at  one  time  or  another,  have  been  burnt  to  death 
by  Christians,  on  account  of  the  doctrines  he  now 
safely  holds. 

Certainly  it  is  a  curious  thought  that  the  perfected 
doctrine  of  Hell  is  the  specialty  of  the  Christian 
Church  ;  that  she  may  claim  to  have  elaborated  it 
with  an  amount  of  conjectural  detail  which  is  abso- 
lutely unique.  Nor  can  any  impartial  student  of 
Church  history  doubt  that  the  power  of  ecclesiasti- 
cism  has  been  largely  based  on  the  systematic  terror- 
ism of  the  belief  in  eternal  punishment :  this  dogma 
it  is  which  has  given  the  Papacy  its  prominence  in 
the  temporal  affairs  of  Europe,  not  seldom  amounting 
to  an  absolute  control.  No  one  can  fail  to  see  the 
many  immoral  possibilities  of  a  condition  of  credulity 


1 82  CHRISTIAN  ETHICS. 

such  as  this  implies  ;  nor  is  it  easy  to  restrain  our 
feelings  when  we  find  the  Church  teaching  the  eter- 
nal damnation  of  infants  dying  unbaptized — a  doc- 
trine never  doubted  for  over  twelve  centuries ;  or 
burning  heretics  with  damp  wood,  so  as  to  prolong 
their  agonies  ;  or  forcing  children  to  kindle  the  fires  in 
which  their  parents  were  doomed  to  die  ;  or  assuring 
converts  that  their  heathen  friends  were  condemned 
to  everlasting  torment ;  or  lightly  using  that  tre- 
mendous engine  of  superstition,  Excommunication. 
Indeed,  when  we  call  to  mind  the  plain  facts  of 
Church  history,  it  is  not  hard  to  understand  that 
some  are  unwilling  to  attach  themselves,  even  in 
name,  to  a  creed  disfigured  by  as  degrading  bigotry 
as  ever  tyrannized  over  man. 

There  is  a  reputed  saying  of  Christ's,  the  wisdom 
and  policy  of  which  history  has  amply  criticised  for 
us  :  **  Whose  soever  sins  ye  forgive,  they  are  forgiven 
unto  them  ;  whose  soever  ye  retain,  they  are  re- 
tained "  (John  XX.  23).  This  was  expanded  in  the 
Apostolic  Constitutions  (lib.  ii.  cap.  5 1)  into  the  fol- 
lowing :  "  He  who  is  cast  out  of  the  Church  by  its 
duly  constituted  ministers  is  deprived  of  the  glory  of 
eternal  life  :  in  this  world  he  is  shunned  by  the  good, 
and  God  hath  already  judged  him  for  the  next:" 
which  may  fairly  be  termed, — Damnation  by  man, 
God  acquiescing.  Afterwards,  the  Council  of  Elvira 
(307  A.D.)  discovered  no  less  than  fourteen  offences 


CHRISTIAN  ETHICS.  1 83 

which  no  subsequent  repentance  or  reformation  could 
wash  out  ;  all  hope  of  salvation  was  gone  for  ever  ! 
One  such  unpardonable  sin  was  "  to  bring  a  false  ac- 
cusation against  a  bishop  or  priest,  and  fail  to  prove 
it."  At  first,  it  was  usual  to  show  no  mercy,  but  in- 
variably to  refuse  the  "viaticum"  (a  Christianized 
form  of  the  ancient  '*  obolus "  custom)  to  certain 
classes  of  sinners,  whether  repentant  or  not,  so  secur- 
ing their  damnation  ;  but  after  a  time  more  leniency 
was  shown. 

Thus  grew  up  the  awful  power  known  as  Excom- 
munication, the  most  disastrous  tyranny  ever  built 
up  on  the  superstitions  of  humanity  :  men  believing 
that  any  bishop,  priest,  or  deacon  could  regulate,  as 
he  chose,  the  damnation  or  salvation  of  every  living 
being  inferior  to  himself  in  ecclesiastical  rank.  Nat- 
urally, private  enmity  often  availed  itself  of  such  ac- 
cessible means  of  revenge — excommunication  being 
bought  and  sold,  like  any  other  commodity.  Even 
animals  were  occasionally  subjected  to  it :  caterpillars 
and  flies  were  killed  by  its  powers — at  least,  so  say 
Church  historians ;  sparrows,  rats,  leeches,  were 
brought  to  their  proper  behavior  by  it.  It  became 
at  last,  from  frequent  use,  a  mere  ban  or  curse,  a  final 
resource  when  other  means  of  revenge  failed.  Assidu- 
ous ecclesiastical  teaching  had  succeeded  in  so  de- 
grading men's  intelligence  that  they  could  once  more, 
like  their  savage  forefathers,  believe  that  influence, 


l84  CHRISTIAN  ETHICS. 

wisely  purchased,  would  place  Omnipotence  at  their 
orders.  And  so  the  inefficiency  of  human  law  was 
supplemented  by  excommunication  ;  it  was  employed 
in  instances  of  theft  and  debt ;  and,  it  may  be 
added,  "  the  Church,  when  condemning  the  debtor 
to  endless  torments,  took  no  account  of  his  pos- 
sible inability  to  pay,  though  secular  courts  might 
when  inflicting  their  merely  temporary  punish- 
ments." 

Can  anything  be  more  opposed  to  progress  in  moral 
ideas  than  to  retain  (even  in  a  half-hearted,  wavering 
fashion)  any  belief  whatever  in  the  divine  origin  of 
this  barbarous  terrorism  ?  Or  can  words  be  too 
strong  to  express  our  opinion  of  men  who  "  doubted 
not  there  were  infants  not  a  span  long  crawling  about 
the  floor  of  hell  ?  "  As  Mr.  Lecky  remarks,  in  refer- 
ence to  the  brutal  doctrine  about  still-born  children, 
who  were  regarded  as  hopelessly  damned,  "  Nothing 
can  be  more  curious,  nothing  can  be  more  deeply 
pathetic,  than  the  record  of  the  many  ways  by  which 
the  terror-stricken  mothers  attempted  to  evade  the 
awful  sentence  of  their  Church.  .  .  .  For  the 
doctrine  of  the  Church  had  wrung  the  mother's  heart 
with  an  agony  that  was  too  poignant  even  for  that 
submissive  age  to  bear." 

Nor  can  we  altogether  dismiss  this  teaching  as  a 
relic  of  barbarism,  now  only  surviving  amongst  the 
uneducated ;  for  thus   did   one  bishop   report   and 


CHRISTIAN    ETHICS.  1 85 

comment  on  the  words  of  another,  only  a  very  few 
years  ago :  "  Bishop  Harold  Browne,  speaking  in 
support  of  the  National  School  system,  said  (in  Nov. 
1870) :  *  We  have  not  troubled  their  little  brains,  as 
some  people  seem  to  think,  with  all  kinds  of  dog- 
matic theology ;  though  by  the  bye  I  don't  think 
people  know  what  dogmatic  theology  means.  The 
fact  that  there  is  a  God  is  dogmatic  theology.  The 
fact  that  there  is  a  heaven,  a  hell,  that  our  Saviour 
came  down  to  save  us,  that  is  dogmatic  theology.' 
These  little  ones,  then,  are  taught  about  hell — that 
is  to  say  not  about  death  and  the  grave,  which  are 
facts  before  their  eyes  continually,  or  about  a  right- 
eous judgment  for  faults  committed  against  the  bet- 
ter knowledge  which  they  possess,  to  which  even  the 
conscience  of  a  child  will  bear  witness,  but  about  the 
everlasting  torments  of  hell-fire,  that  revolting  and 
blasphemous  dogma,  which  dooms  to  never-ending 
woe  the  vast  majority  of  human  beings,  of  men, 
women,  and  children,  with  whom  they  meet  upon 
their  daily  pathway,  which  makes  the  God  and 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  '  the  Father  of 
mercies  and  the  God  of  all  consolation,'  into  a  very 
Moloch,  reigning  upon  a  throne  of  glory,  while 
shrieks  and  groans  are  ever  resounding  from  the 
bottomless  abyss,  and,  as  some  teach,  the  cries  of 
little  innocent  unbaptized  babes  among  the  rest,  'and 
the  smoke  of  their  torments  goes  up  for   ever  and 


1 86  CHRISTIAN  ETHICS. 

ever ! '  "  (Colenso,  "  The  Pentateuch  and  the  Moabite 
Stone,"  p.  374.) 

For  the  sum  of  fourpence  a  very  instructive  Httle 
collection  of  literature  on  this  subject  can  be  bought, 
in  the  shape  of  three  pamphlets,  respectively  entitled 
"  Hell  Opened  to  Christians," — "  The  Terrible  Judg- 
ment and  the  Bad  Child,"— and  "  The  Sight  of  Hell." 
The  first  of  these  is  from  the  Italian  of  the  Rev. 
Father  Pinamonti,  and  is  mainly  interesting  for  some 
curious  woodcuts  depicting  a  few  of  the  promised 
tortures.  The  other  two,  written  especially  for 
children  by  the  Rev.  J.  Furniss,  and  published 
{Permissu  Siiperioruni)  at  one  penny  each  (Duffy  & 
Sons,  Dublin  and  London),  would,  however,  furnish 
the  reader  with  all  the  food  for  reflection  he  can 
desire.  Their  author  has  evidently  felt  that  in  these 
degenerate  days  Hell  is  not  pictured  vividly  enough 
for  practical  purposes  of  terrorism,  and  has  accord- 
ingly done  his  imaginative  best  to  supply  this  great 
want.  And  he  deserves  every  credit  for  his  work, 
for  anything  better  calculated  to  drive  a  sensitive 
child  mad  with  fright  it  would  be  impossible  to  con- 
ceive. A  few  extracts  will  help  us,  as  well  as  any- 
thing could,  in  forming  our  estimate  of  the  morality 
of  this  Catholic  doctrine. 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  iS/ 

"  THE  DUNGEONS  OF  HELL." 

"  A  Dress  of  Fire. — Come  into  this  room.  You  see 
it  is  very  small.  But  see,  in  the  midst  of  it  there  is 
a  girl,  perhaps  about  eighteen  years  old.  What  a 
terrible  dress  she  has  on :  her  dress  is  made  of  fire. 
On  her  head  she  wears  a  bonnet  of  fire.  It  is  pressed 
down  close  all  over  her  head  ;  it  burns  her  head  ;  it 
burns  into  the  skin  ;  it  scorches  the  bone  of  the  skull, 
and  makes  it  smoke.  The  red-hot  fiery  heat  burns 
into  the  brain  and  melts  it.  You  do  not  perhaps 
like  a  headache.  Think  what  a  headache  that  girl 
must  have.  But  see  more.  She  is  wrapped  in 
flames,  for  her  frock  is  fire.  If  she  were  on  earth 
she  would  be  burnt  to  cinder  in  a  moment.  But 
she  is  in  Hell,  where  fire  burns  everything,  but  burns 
nothing  away.  There  she  stands  burning  and 
scorched  :  there  she  will  stand  for  ever  burning  and 
scorched !  She  counts  with  her  fingers  the  moments 
as  they  pass  away  slowly,  for  each  moment  seems  to 
her  like  a  hundred  years.  As  she  counts  the  mo- 
ments she  remembers  that  she  will  have  to  count 
them  for  ever  and  ever." 

"  The  Red-hot  Floor. — Look  into  this  room.  What 
a  dreadful  place  it  is  !  The  roof  is  red-hot ;  the  walls 
arc  red-hot ;  the  floor  is  like  a  thick  sheet  of  red-hot 
iron.  See,  on  the  middle  of  that  red-hot  floor  stands 
a  girl.     She  looks  about  sixteen  years  old.     Her  feet 


1 88  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

are  bare  ;  she  has  neither  shoes  nor  stockings  on  her 
feet ;  her  bare  feet  stand  on  the  red-hot  burning 
floor.  The  door  of  this  room  has  never  been  opened 
before  since  she  first  set  her  foot  on  the  the  red-hot 
floor.  Now  she  sees  that  the  door  is  opening. 
She  rushes  forward.  She  has  gone  down  on  her 
knees  on  the  burning  floor.  Listen !  she  speaks. 
She  says  :  '  I  have  been  standing  with  my  bare  feet 
on  this  red-hot  floor  for  years.  Sleep  never  came  on 
me  for  a  moment,  that  I  might  forget  this  horrible 
burning  floor.  Look,'  she  says,  '  at  my  burnt  and 
bleeding  feet.  Let  me  go  off  for  one  moment,  only 
for  one  single  short  moment !  '  The  devil  answers  : 
'  Do  you  ask  for  a  moment,  for  one  moment  to  for- 
get your  pain?  No,  not  for  one  single  moment  dur- 
ing the  never-ending  eternity  of  years  shall  you  ever 
leave  this  red-hot  floor.'  " 

"  The  Red-hot  Oiwn. — See !  it  is  a  pitiful  sight.  The 
little  child  is  in  this  red-hot  oven.  Hear  how  it 
screams  to  come  out.  See  how  it  turns  and  twists 
itself  about  in  the  fire.  It  beats  its  head  against  the 
roof  of  the  oven.  It  stamps  its  little  feet  on  the 
floor  of  the  oven.  You  can  see  on  the  face  of  this 
little  child  what  you  see  on  the  faces  of  all  in  Hell — 
despair,  desperate  and  horrible  1 " 

These  disgusting  extracts  are  fair  specimens  of 
the  whole  of  these  children's  books  ;  their  very  com- 
mon-place and  tautological  treatment  of  the  subject 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  I89 

being  well-calculated  to  produce  a  greater  effect  than 
a  more  artistic  method,  in  which  the  naked  horror 
of  the  doctrine  might  be  somewhat  disguised.  Such 
detailed  descriptions  also  give  more  definiteness  to 
the  ordinary  creed,  and  enable  us  better  to  realize 
how  completely  some  religious  doctrines,  unwisely 
retained  in  all  their  primitive  barbarity,  may  effectu- 
ally check  men's  moral  and  mental  growth.  In 
reading  these  little  books,  it  is  indeed  scarcely  possi- 
ble to  avoid  the  charitable  suspicion  that  their 
author  perhaps  intended  them  as  a  powerful  attack 
on  the  orthodox  doctrine  of  the  Catholic  Church. 
Whether  he  did  or  not,  that  is  what  they  undoubt- 
edly are. 

At  first  sight  it  certainly  seems  almost  incredible 
that  such  horrors  can  be  believed,  simultaneously 
with  trust  in  the  Love  and  Fatherhood  of  a  God, 
for  whose  glory  and  satisfaction  all  this  takes  place. 
But  that  two  beliefs  contradict  one  another  has 
never  with  the  superstitious  been  any  reason  for  re- 
jecting either ;  they  prefer  to  suppose  that  difficul- 
ties of  this  kind  are  removed  by  a  reference  to  the 
universal  argument,  that  the  Divine  ways  are  not  as 
ours.  By  a  clearer  realization  of  this  doctrine  of 
hell-fire,  we  can  also  better  understand  the  passionate 
frenzy  and  hate  which  Heresy,  the  supreme  "  mortal 
sin,"  invariably  roused,  in  the  days  of  ecclesiastical 
power.     Then,  hell  and  the  devil  were  awful  realities 


190  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

to  men,  and  not  chiefly  means  for  pointing  a  joke  or 
adorning  an  anecdote.  Even  the  exact  locahty  of 
hell  was  known  ;  Father  Furniss,  it  may  be  noticed, 
places  it  only  four  thousand  miles  off,  in  the  middle 
of  the  earth.  We  should  be  glad  that  our  religious 
creed  sits  more  easily  on  us — it  is  a  healthy  change 
in  every  respect. 

The  undoubted  tendency  of  the  more  liberal  the- 
ology of  the  day  is  to  something  like  this  position — 
the  great  central  doctrine  of  Christianity,  it  is  agreed, 
is  the  Fatherhood  and  Love  of  God :  accordingly 
everything  which  contradicts  this  doctrine,  implicitly 
no  less  than  explicitly,  is  to  be  eliminated  from  reli- 
gious teaching  ;  quietly  dropped,  when  possible — but 
openly  repudiated  when  necessary.  There  is  no 
question  but  that,  thanks  to  this  process,  we  shall 
soon  have  a  religious  morality  taught  vastly  superior 
to  anything  ever  dreamt  of  by  the  Church  before, 
and  the  sooner  the  XXXIX.  Articles,  the  Canons, 
etc.,  are  altered  into  honest  agreement  with  it,  the 
better. 

In  the  "  Contemporary  Review,"  a  few  years  ago 
(April  and  May,  1878),  appeared  fourteen  short  Arti- 
cles, by  divines  of  various  religious  bodies,  on  this 
subject  of  Future  Punishment ;  and  in  one  of  the 
most  outspoken — and  reticence  was  not  the  fault  of 
any  of  the  writers — that,  namely,  by  Dr.  John  Hunt, 
the  doctrine,  as  now  revised  and  improved,  is  thus 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  I9I 

clearly  laid  down  :  "  The  sole  question  to  be  settled 
is  what  Christ  meant  to  say  when  He  spoke  of  the 
future  punishment  of  the  wicked.  The  proper 
answer  seems  to  be  that  he  did  not  intend  to  convey 
any  idea  either  of  the  real  nature  or  of  the  duration 
of  the  punishment.  It  was  something  so  awful  that 
the  strongest  metaphors  with  which  the  minds  of 
his  hearers  were  familiar  were  used  to  describe  it, 
but  still  they  were  metaphors,  and  all  taken  from 
things  temporal  and  material." 

The  modern  theological  mind,  then,  is  satisfied 
when  the  eternity  z.nd  definiteness  of  the  punishment 
are  got  rid  of.  We  do  not  wish  to  deny  that  this  is 
a  very  considerable  moral  improvement,  but  is  it  any- 
thing more  than  a  temporary  compromise  with  our 
sense  of  justice?  By  way  of  illustration,  let  us  take 
a  simple  imaginary  case.  We  will  assume  that  of 
two  brother  sinners — both  equally,  and  very,  bad. 
One  of  them  is  suddenly  killed  in  an  accident ;  the 
other  lives  to  take  the  warning  and  repent,  and  dies 
afterwards  in  a  highly  satisfactory  state.  Now  even 
the  gentler  theology  requires  us  to  fear  that,  owing 
apparently  to  that  unlucky  accident,  one  of  these 
equally  guilty  men  .escapes  with  a  brief  repentance, 
with  its  many  earthly  alleviations  and  gratifications, 
while  the  other  has  to  undergo  a  punishment  "  so 
awful  that  the  strongest  metaphors,"  etc.,  etc., — as 
we  have  just  read.     And  if  it  be  answered  that  it  is 


192  CHRISTIAN  ETHICS. 

not  our  business  to  judge  these  men,  or  presume 
anything  as  to  their  respective  future  destinies,  is 
not  this  to  get  out  of  the  difficulty  by  denying  all 
definite  force  and  meaning  whatever  to  the  doctrine  ? 
Certainly,  as  it  stands,  even  in  its  civilized  form,  we 
can  only  understand  it  as  teaching  that  punishment 
for  sins  is  vastly  easier  to  bear  in  this  life  than  in 
the  next ;  and  from  this  the  difficulties  our  case 
illustrates,  necessarily  follow.  Moreover,  when  we 
reflect  that  no  man  is  altogether  good  or  altogether 
bad,  is  it  not  manifestly  impossible  that  the  sharp 
and  terrible  line  of  demarcation  implied  by  this 
heaven-(?r-hell  theory  could  be  justly  drawn  ?  And 
would  it  not  therefore  be  wisest,  without  more  ado, 
to  substitute  the  simple  but  forcible  doctrine  of 
Causation :  that  every  act,  word,  or  thought  of  ours 
will  always  continue  to  bear  fruit,  for  others  as  well 
as  ourselves;  and  that  these,  their  natural  results, 
will  constitute,  so  far  as  we  can  possibly  tell,  their 
only  reward  or  punishment  ? 

The  change  now  taking  place  on  this  question  is 
a  fair  example  of  what  we  may  reasonably  suppose 
has  always  been  the  method  of  religious  develop- 
ment. No  one  pretends  that  this  particular  dogma 
is  being  so  stoutly  attacked  simply  because  it  is 
without  sufficient  warrant  in  Scripture ;  such  defi- 
ciency would  never  have  caused  a  moment's  anxiety, 
were  not  these  theories  grossly  offensive  to  our  more 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  I93 

refined  moral  sense.  Many  are  now  too  civilized  to 
accept  such  moral  monstrosities ;  and  it  is  in  conse- 
quence of  this  that  they  have  set  to  work  to  prove 
that  these  were  not  the  doctrines  of  Christ  and  his 
apostles.  But  the  historical  discovery  cannot  be 
claimed  as  the  original  cause  of  the  rejection  of  the 
dogma,  which,  without  the  disturbing  influence  of 
conscience,  would  have  been  acquiesced  in,  for  gene- 
rations to  come,  as  an  undoubted  portion  of  the 
Catholic  Creed.  And  such  probably  is  the  history 
of  all  religious  beliefs,  in  their  origin  and  reforma- 
tion alike  :  as  men  grow  more  humanized,  their  con- 
ception of  God  improves  also ;  and  the  acts  which 
the  savage  admiringly  imputes  to  his  Deity,  only 
arouse  a  more  advanced  race  to  pity  and  disgust. 
What  men  believe  of  their  God  depends  mainly  on 
what  they  themselves  are. 


Inconsistencies,  etc. 

A  few  expressions  indicative  of  Oriental  imperi- 
ousness  and  religious  intolerance,  as  well  as  certain 
inconsistencies  in  the  reported  doctrine  of  Christ, 
remain  to  be  briefly  noticed.  However,  in  common 
fairness,  only  moderate  stress  must  be  laid  on  such 
proofs  of  moral  inequality ;  for  they  may  probably  be 
13 


194-  CHRISTIAN    ETHICS. 

due  to  the  original  incorrectness  of  his  biographers, 
or  to  later  alterations  in  the  text  of  the  Gospels. 
As  we  have  already  had  occasion  to  remark,  the 
ancient  historian's  standard  of  accuracy  was  very 
different  from  ours,  and  therefore  to  emphasize 
isolated  and  minor  points  in  Christ's  teaching,  more 
particularly  where  a  strong  polemical  or  ecclesias- 
tical motive  can  be  imputed  to  the  writer,  would  be 
most  unjustifiable.  And  yet  these  points  should  not 
be  passed  by  altogether  without  notice  ;  since,  so  far 
as  their  testimony  goes,  they  suggest  some  slight 
moral  archaisms  and  imperfections,  which  are  natural 
enough  to  be  fairly  credible. 

From  the  simple  fact  that  Christ  was  not  a 
systematic  or  scientific  teacher,  it  was  almost  in- 
evitable that  some  contradictions  and  inconsistencies 
should  occur  in  his  various  sayings  :  to  carefully 
avoid  them  would  never  enter  into  his  thoughts — 
indeed  no  such  speaker  from  the  heart,  and  by  im- 
pulse, could  do  so.  Comparison  between  the  follow- 
ing passages  will  enable  those  of  our  readers  who 
consider  this  point  of  interest  or  importance,  to 
satisfy  themselves  as  to  its  character  and  extent : 
Matt.  V.  i6,  and  John  iii.  20,  21,  with  Matt.  vi.  3; 
Matt,  xxiii.  3,  23,  with  xv.  1,2,  and  xvi.  5-12;  Matt, 
xviii.  15-17,  with  vv.  21,  22  ;  Matt,  vii.  i,  with 
John  vii.  24;  Matt.  v.  44,  with  x.  14,  15;  Matt.  v. 
39,  with  Luke  xxii.  36;  Luke  viii.  16,  17,  and  xi.  33- 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  I95 

36,  with  Mark  iv.  11,  12;  Matt.  v.  18,  with  Acts  x. 
14-28,  XV.  1-29,  Rom.  xiv.  1-6,  i  Cor.  viii.  4-8. 

The  attacks  on  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  as  repre- 
sented, were  far  too  general,  violent,  and  indiscrimi- 
nating,  for  a  perfectly  just  and  unbiassed  mind  to 
have  dictated ;  there  were  many  very  excellent 
Rabbis  and  others  in  their  ranks,  and  all  should  not 
have  been  involved  in  one  wholesale  system  of  abuse. 
(See  Matt,  xxiii.  13-36;  Luke  xi.  39-52.) 

And  again,  we  find  Christ,  on  another  occasion, 
represented  in  a  similar  spirit  as  recommending  to 
his  disciples  a  well-known  symbolic  act  for  express- 
ing hatred  and  contempt,  and  for  invoking  divine 
vengeance  on  those  who  offended  them :  "  Whoso- 
ever shall  not  receive  you,  nor  hear  your  words,  as 
ye  go  forth  out  of  that  house,  or  that  city,  shake  off 
the  dust  of  your  feet "  (Matt.  x.  14).  Also,  in  the 
Parable  of  the  Vineyard  (Matt.  xx.  1-16)  a  very  sug- 
gestive piece  of  moral  argument  is  to  be  met  with, 
apparently  advanced  as  sound  and  conclusive:  "Is 
it  not  lawful  for  me  to  do  what  I  will  with  mine 
own  ?  "  This  is  well  worth  noting  as  an  instance  of 
how  a  thing  may  seem  natural  and  self-evident  to 
minds  in  one  age,  and  the  very  reverse  to  others, 
when  some  centuries  have  elapsed :  for  modern 
morality — in  her  hatred  of  anything  like  selfish  des- 
potism— would  unhesitatingly  reply  to  such  a  ques- 
tion, "  Certainly  not,  unless  what  you  do  is  thought- 


196  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

ful  and  just."  Nor  does  arbitrary  conduct,  such  as 
that  of  the  owner  of  the  vineyard,  admit  of  an  easy 
vindication.  What  should  we  say  of  an  EngHsh 
farmer,  who  paid  his  laborers  after  this  fashion,  and 
then  answered  a  reasonable  remonstrance  with — "  I 
choose  to  do  this  ;  you  can  go  ?  " 

There  are  also  two  other  most  unhappy  and  im- 
politic sayings,  which  call  for  our  brief  attention : 
"  He  that  is  not  with  me  is  against  me ;  and  he  that 
gathereth  not  with  me  scattereth "  (Luke  xi.  23) ; 
and  "  Constrain  them  to  come  in,  that  my  house  may 
be  filled  "  (Luke  xiv.  23).  Have  not  these  been  the 
Church's  justification  for  treating  all  believers  in 
alien  creeds  as  her  natural  enemies — for  employing 
violence  and  cruelty  in  their  conversion,  and  killing 
them  without  pity,  when  they  declined  her  rude  in- 
vitations "  to  come  in?"  A  parallel  doctrine,  which 
history  has  criticised  and  condemned  in  a  very  simi- 
lar manner,  is  contained  in  the  saying,  "  He  that 
believeth  not  hath  been  judged  already"  (John  iii. 
18 ;  compare  the  traditional  saying  in  Mark  xvi.  16). 
This  curious  theory,  that  belief  \s  an  important  moral 
quality,  we  can  but  regard  as  a  relic  of  ignorance, 
at  length  supplanted  by  the  recognition  of  our  duty 
to  treat  it  as  a  pure  question  of  evidence — a  matter 
for  the  intellect  to  decide  upon,  whilst  allowing  the 
feelings  as  little  influence  as  possible.  But  to  the 
old  doctrine  is  certainly  due  much  of  the  barbarity 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  I97 

of  religious  persecutions ;  and  it  has  also  proved  a 
principal  cause  in  producing  religious  madness. 
However,  we  can  detect  in  all  these  examples  too 
palpable  an  ecclesiastical  purpose,  for  them  to  be 
worth  much  as  evidence,  except  of  the  general  level 
of  morality  in  the  early  Church, 

"  And  his  disciples  asked  him  saying.  Rabbi,  who 
did  sin,  this  man,  or  his  parents,  that  he  should  be 
born  blind?  Jesus  answered,  Neither  did  this  man 
sin,  nor  his  parents  :  but  that  the  works  of  God  should 
be  made  manifest  in  him"  (John  ix.  2,  3).  Here  wc 
have  a  suggestion  of  the  terrible  theory  that  physical 
suffering  is  inflicted  for  the  glory  of  God,  which  after- 
wards played  such  a  prominent  part  in  the  specula- 
tions about  hell.  The  remark  may  moreover  be  noted 
as  a  good  sample  of  the  mythological  explanations 
of  natural  events  so  prevalent  in  pre-scientific  ages ; 
and  as  therefore  exhibiting  (what  necessarily  must 
have  been  the  case)  entire  ignorance  of  physical 
causation.  The  reasons  for  any  one  being  born  with 
a  deficient  complement  of  organs  are  purely  physio- 
logical, the  effect  of  general  laws,  and  due  to  no 
special  action  ofTrovidence.  To  suppose  otherwise 
would  indeed  be  to  take  a  most  gloomy  view  of  the 
value  of  all  medical  research :  it  can  hardly  be  too 
often  repeated  that  the  Interference  Theory,  in  any 
shape  or  form,  affirms  the  impossibility  of  all  scien- 
tific knowledge  whatsoever,  by  introducing  into  the 


198  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

action  of  nature  a  factor  of  which  we  can  never  give 
any  definite  account.  Another  curious  point  about 
this  passage  is  that,  if  we  accept  the  story  as  authen- 
tic, both  the  disciples'  question  and  Christ's  answer 
indicate  a  belief  in  the  doctrine  of  the  transmigration 
of  souls :  "  Is  this  man's  blindness  a  punishment  for 
his  crimes  in  a  previous  state  of  existence  ?" — that  is 
what  it  amounts  to. 


The  Originality  of  Christ. 

A  far  pleasanter  task  remains,  in  the  considera- 
tion of  the  great  moral  principle  which  constituted 
the  most  valuable,  and  at  the  same  time  most  ori- 
ginal, work  of  Christ.  His  other  teaching,  with  its 
numerous  archaisms  and  shortcomings,  he  shared — 
as  our  quotations  have  now  shown — with  his  fellow 
Rabbis :  though,  it  may  be  added,  he  very  probably 
did  more  than  any  other  to  popularize  these  doc- 
trines. 

In  the  early  ages  of  the  world,  when  men  first 
began  to  unite  and  form  nations,  the  tyranny  of  cus- 
tom was  absolutely  essential  for  the  creation  of  social 
characteristics — the  qualities  on  whose  basis  alone  a 
permanent  union  was  possible;  and  "the  soft  minds 
and  strong  passions  of  youthful  nations "  required 
hardening  and  training  by  centuries  of   the  "  drill " 


CHRISTIAN    ETHICS.  I99 

resulting  from  a  complicated  and  despotic  ceremoni- 
alism. Unthinking  obedience  is  the  best  initial 
policy  equally  in  the  case  of  very  young  children 
and  of  very  early  nationalities.  But,  social  coherency 
once  firmly  established,  then  arises  the  danger  of  the 
middle-aged  nation  being  unable  to  break  through 
the  bonds  of  custom  and  tradition,  so  as  to  pass  on 
to  higher  stages  of  mental  and  moral  development; 
India  and  China  are  good  examples  of  civilizations 
arrested  in  this  way,  where  the  retarding  forces  have 
been  too  strong,  and  all  power  of  variability  has  been 
destroyed.  As  Mr.  Bagehot  says :  "  The  beginning 
of  civilization  is  marked  by  an  intense  legality ;  that 
legality  is  the  very  condition  of  its  existence,  the 
bond  which  ties  it  together;  but  that  legality  — that 
tendency  to  impose  a  settled  customary  yoke  upon 
all  men  and  all  actions — if  it  goes  on,  kills  out  the 
variability  implanted  by  nature,  and  makes  different 
men  and  different  ages  facsimiles  of  other  men  and 
other  ages,  as  we  see  them  so  often.  Progress  is 
only  possible  in  those  happy  cases  where  the  force 
of  legality  has  gone  far  enough  to  bind  the  nation 
together,  but  not  far  enough  to  kill  out  all  varieties, 
and  destroy  nature's  perpetual  tendency  to  change  " 
("  Physics  and  Politics,"  p.  64). 

[These  considerations  help  us  to  understand  the 
very  different  success  that  has  attended  Buddhism 
and  Christianity  :    for  though  the  legal  systems  of 


200  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

which  they  were  the  reforms — Brahmanism  and 
Judaism — have  to  a  great  extent  checked  the  moral 
freedom  which  both  Buddha  and  Christ  aimed  at 
estabhshing,  still  there  is  no  comparison  between  the 
degrees  of  progress  reached  under  the  one  religion 
and  the  other:  not,  however,  in  the  lands  of  their 
birth — for  their  own  countries  both  Reformers  were 
too  late.] 

This,  then,  from  the  evolutionary  point  of  view, 
is  Christ's  chief  merit — what  makes  him  the  fore- 
most leader  of  the  world — namely,  that,  at  the  right 
place  and  time  in  moral  history,  he  boldly  rescued 
the  essential  laws  of  conduct  from  a  bewildering  mass 
of  temporary  legalism,  marking  once  for  all  the  abso- 
lute difference  between  the  two  orders  of  ideas.  The 
earlier  Hebrew  prophets,  it  is  true,  had  taught  some- 
what similar  doctrines  before  him,  but  without  any- 
thing like  the  same  power  and  deliberate  method  ; 
consequently,  when  they  passed  away,  their  teaching 
lost  all  its  reforming  force. 

The  "liberation  of  humanity"  had  begun  long 
before  in  Greece  ;  but  the  hardest  battle  of  all,  that 
for  religious  freedom,  was  fought  and  won  in  Judea. 
Religious  fixity  is  based  on  superstitions  so  deeply 
rooted  that  argument  can  hardly  touch  them ;  there 
the  yoke  of  custom  is  most  tyrannical,  there  the  hope 
of  successfully  questioning  its  justice  and  right,  of 
starting  the  discussion  of  abstract  principles,  is  faint- 


CHRISTIAN    ETHICS.  201 

est.  Thus  Christ  found  a  large  class  of  scholarly- 
moralists,  the  Rabbis,  ready  for  any  discussions 
within  fixed  limits — those,  namely,  of  the  written 
and  oral  law  ;  this  they  were  prepared  to  interpret, 
but  never  to  doubt.  However,  he  went  to  the  root 
of  the  matter,  appealed  to  men's  common  sense 
("  Judge  ye  for  yourselves  what  is  right "),  and  criti- 
cised the  most  sacred  traditions  and  customs  with 
pitiless  principle.  Blind  faith  in  the  old  forms  and 
ceremonies,  originally  full  of  benefit  and  help  for  the 
untrained  minds  of  more  barbarous  days,  had  become 
mischievous  as  a  hindrance  to  further  progress  ;  but 
it  called  for  the  best  and  noblest  type  of  man  to 
dare  to  see  and  say  this ;  for  these  things  were  sup- 
posed to  be  divine  gifts,  and  he  who  attacked  them 
needed  strong  convictions  and  a  brave  heart,  knowing 
as  he  must  what  his  fate  would  be  if  he  persevered 
in  his  mission. 

Even  the  greatest  of  the  Rabbis,  Hillel  himself, 
could  at  one  time  insist  on  as  beautiful  maxims  of 
perfection  as  ever  Christ  taught,  but,  at  another, 
with  equal  emphasis  teach  the  necessity  of  attending 
to  minute  ceremonial  trifles,  in  reality  only  so  many- 
obstructions  in  the  way  of  the  higher  life.  The 
Jews  at  this  period  seem  to  have  been  wofully 
deficient  in  critical  common  sense  ;  either  the 
timidity  of  conservatism,  or  the  dulness  of  ortho- 
doxy, made  them  confound  (or,  at  all  events,  appear 


20^  CHRISTIAN  ETHICS. 

to  do  SO  in  their  teaching)  the  temporary  value  of 
observances  and  institutions  with  the  vital  force  of 
true  morality.  And  so,  when  M.  Renan  remarks, 
"  Hillel  was  the  real  master  of  Jesus  " — we  can  but 
reply,  Jesus  had  no  master.  The  statement  would 
be  true  enough,  if  we  are  to  regard  him  chiefly  in 
the  light  ot  a  teacher  of  the  religious  doctrines  that 
have  been  erroneously  attributed  to  him  as  their 
originator ;  so  far  as  these  are  concerned,  he  was  but 
continuing  the  great  President's  work — sometimes 
repeating  his  very  words ;  but  the  distinctive  pecu- 
liarity of  Christ  was  that  he  consistently  proclaimed 
the  overwhelming  force  of  the  natural  virtues  over 
those  that  are  merely  formal  and  occasional,  and  no 
doctor  of  the  Law  taught  him  this  truth.  Our 
debt  then  to  him  is  surely  great  enough  to  dispense 
with  exaggeration  at  the  hands  of  inaccurate  or 
over-enthusiastic  partisans ;  nor  need  we  hesitate  to 
admit  that  he  found  all  the  materials  for  his  teach- 
ing, moral  and  theological  alike,  ready  to  his  hand, 
and  did  not  invent  any  of  them.  Indeed,  no  ethical 
system  can  be  inventedy  for  it  is  a  gradual  growth 
from  the  experience  of  many  generations  of  men ; 
but  as  it  grows ,  weeds  spring  up  with  it,  fossil 
conventionalities  hinder  its  power  and  usefulness, 
and  there  is  need  of  bold  reformers,  now  and  again, 
to  clear  away  these  obstructions. 

With  an  exquisite  sense  of  moral  proportion  Christ 


CHRISTIAN  ETHICS.  203 

opposed  the  inner  to  the  outer,  the  disposition  to  the 
act,  and  on  the  former  emphatically  based  the  virtue 
and  value  of  a  man.  His  purpose  was,  as  Professor 
Baur  says,  ''  simply  to  throw  men  back  on  their 
own  moral  and  religious  consciousness.  A  man  has 
only  to  become  clearly  aware  of  that  which  announces 
itself  in  his  own  consciousness  as  his  highest  moral 
end,  and  he  can  realize  it  by  his  own  efforts.  When 
we  thus  look  back  to  its  earliest  elements,  Christian- 
ity appears  as  a  purely  moral  religion."  (Compare 
also  Kuenen,  "Religion  of  Israel,"  vol.  iii.  p. 
279.) 

In  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  (see  Matt.  v.  31,  33, 
38),  certain  doctrines  in  the  earlier  law  are  directly 
contradicted  by  the  higher  views  substituted  by 
Christ ;  and  again  in  the  Parables  of  the  Good 
Samaritan,  and  of  the  Publican  and  Pharisee,  we 
have  plain  testimony  as  to  his  estimate  of  the  prob- 
able dangers  of  formalism  for  the  hearts  and  con- 
sciences of  men.  But  to  appreciate  his  attitude  on 
the  whole  question  of  ceremonialism,  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  rely  on  such  comparatively  slight  indications, 
since  we  have  several  specimens  of  his  more  direct 
and  deliberate  teaching  on  the  subject.  In  the  Law, 
especially  in  Leviticus,  whole  chapters  are  devoted 
to  the  consideration  of  what  a  man  may  eat,  and 
what  he  may  not  eat ;  the  decisions  mainly  turning 
on   traditional    or   ceremonial   points.     These    laws 


204  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

the  Rabbis  had  still  further  enlarged  and  compH- 
cated  with  a  vast  amount  of  commentary  and  discus- 
sion. But  then  came  Christ,  and  said,  Avith  solemn 
emphasis  and  intention,  "  Hear  me  all  of  you,  and 
understand  :  there  is  nothing  from  without  the  man, 
that  going  into  him  can  defile  him :  but  the  things 
which  proceed  out  of  the  man  are  those  that  defile 
the  man  "  (Mark  vii.  14,  15).  [In  accordance  with 
which  principle  he  instructed  his  disciples,  "  Into 
whatsoever  city  ye  enter,  and  they  receive  you,  eat 
such  things  as  are  set  before  you  "  (Luke  x.  8).]  A 
reference  to  the  parallel  passage  in  Matt.  xv.  17-20 
cannot  fail  to  satisfy  the  reader  that  far  more  is 
implied  in  Christ's  words  than  disregard  of  the  par- 
ticular form  specified ;  and  that  we  must  rather 
recognize  in  the  spirit  that  dictated  this  teaching,  a 
vigorous,  common-sense  protest  against  the  mischief 
of  treating  any  act  of  ceremonialism  whatever  as  a 
question  of  moral  duty.  And  when  we  consider  how 
few,  even  now,  eighteen  centuries  afterwards,  have 
faith  enough  to  accept  all  the  consequences  of  this 
doctrine,  how  steadily  the  Church  herself  continues 
to  "  Judaize  "  in  such  matters,  we  shall  the  better 
appreciate  the  intelligence  and  courage  that  could 
persistently  hold  to  these  views  in  opposition  to 
the  staunchest  religious  conservatism  the  world  has 
ever  seen. 

Moreover,  Christ  again  and  again  broke  the  Sab- 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  205 

bath,  openly  and  with  deHberation,  as  an  ostenta- 
tious protest  (using  the  words  with  no  disagreeable 
meaning)  against  formahsm.  In  the  story  of  the 
healing  of  the  cripple  at  the  Pool  of  Bethesda,  such 
a  point  occurs,  which  reads  not  unlike  a  challenge  to 
the  legal  party :  it  was  the  Sabbath,  and  yet  Christ, 
under  no  apparent  necessity,  said  to  the  old  man, 
"  Take  up  thy  bed,  and  walk  "  (John  v.  8) ;  indeed  he 
seems  to  have  delighted  in  public  expressions  of  his 
horror  and  contempt  for  ceremonialism  without 
beauty.  There  is  also  a  traditional  saying  of  his, 
given  in  one  of  the  oldest  manuscripts  of  the  New 
Testament  (Cordex  D,  the  "  Beza"  MS.  of  the  sixth 
century),  after  Luke  vi.  4,  which  so  exactly  coin- 
cides with  his  other  teaching  on  the  subject  that 
it  may  fairly  be  assumed  to  be  genuine.  The  pas- 
sage runs  as  follows :  "  On  the  same  day  having 
seen  one  working  on  the  Sabbath,  he  said  to  him, 
O  man,  if  indeed  thou  knowest  what  thou  doest, 
thou  art  blessed  ;  but  if  thou  knowest  not,  thou  art 
cursed,  and  art  a  transgressor  of  the  Law."  And 
yet  another  saying  attributed  to  him  by  early  tradi- 
tion is  this :  "  I  came  to  put  an  end  to  sacrifices, 
and,  unless  ye  cease  from  sacrificing,  anger  will  not 
cease  from  you." 

Precisely  the  same  doctrines  were  taught  by  his 
great  follower,  Paul :  what  calm  indifference  for  forms 
combined    with     tender   anxiety    for    the    "  weak 


206  CHRISTIAN  ETHICS. 

brother's  "  conduct,  the  apostle  shows,  whenever  he 
deals  with  these  questions  in  his  Epistles. 

"One  man  esteemeth  one  day  above  another: 
another  esteemeth  every  day  alike.  Let  each  man 
be  fully  assured  in  his  own  mind.  He  that  regardeth 
the  day,  regardeth  it  unto  the  Lord  ;  and  he  that 
eateth,  eateth  unto  the  Lord,  for  he  giveth  God 
thanks  •  and  he  that  eateth  not,  unto  the  Lord  he 
eateth  not,  and  giveth  God  thanks"  (Rom.  xiv.5,  6). 

"  Let  no  man  therefore  judge  you  in  meat,  or  in 
drink,  or  in  respect  of  a  feast  day,  or  a  new  moon, 
or  a  sabbath  day :  which  are  a  shadow  of  the  things 
to  come  ;  but  the  body  is  Christ's  "  (Col.  ii.  16,  17  ; 
compare  also  vv.  20-23  ;  i  Tim.  iv.  3). 

It  is  impossible  too  much  to  admire  the  excellent 
common  sense  shown  in  this  way  of  regarding  cere- 
monial morality :  "  Keep  the  sabbath  ?  By  all 
means,  if  you  think  it  best  to  do  so.  Break  it  ?  Cer- 
tainly, if  your  conscience  does  not  object."  And 
that  Paul  laid  great  weight  on  this  doctrine  as  being 
an  essential  part  of  Christ's  theory  of  moral  liberty, 
such  a  saying  as  the  following  proves  beyond  much 
doubt  :  "  With  freedom  did  Christ  set  us  free  ;  stand 
fast  therefore,  and  be  not  entangled  again  in  a  yoke 
of  bondage.  Behold,  I  Paul  say  unto  you,  that, if  ye 
receive  circumcision,  Christ  will  profit  you  nothing'' 
(Gal.  v.  I,  2;  compare  chap.  ii.  and  vi.  15  ;  also  Rom. 
ii.  28,  29;  and  Eph.  ii.  14,  15). 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  20/ 

"  Whatsoever  is  sold  in  the  shambles,  eat,  asking 
no  question  for  conscience'  sake"  (i  Cor.  x.  25).  That 
is  to  say,  where  ignorance  is  bliss  in  such  trifles,  it 
is  folly  to  be  too  particular.  Similar  exhortations 
not  to  "run as  proselytes  to  the  Jewish  law,"  and 
"  no  longer  to  observe  Sabbaths,"  might  be  quoted 
from  the  Non-Canonical  Epistles,  if  space  permitted. 
Assuredly  if  any  doubt  can  exist  as  to  what 
Christ's  real  attitude  was  with  regard  to  this 
great  question — of  ceremonialism  being  a  religious 
duty  binding  on  men's  consciences — it  should  be  at 
once  removed  by  an  inquiry  into  the  history  of  the 
general  doctrine  of  the  early  Church.  Immediately 
after  Christ's  death,  owing  to  the  large  numbers  of 
Jewish  converts  to  the  reformed  faith,  the  spirit  of 
conservatism  ruled  supreme  ;  the  whole  narrative  of 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  shows  this  beyond  a  doubt. 
(See  particularly  x.  14,  28 ;  xi.  3 ;  xv.  i,  20;  xxi.  17- 
26.)  And  this  state  of  things  would  naturally  exert 
much  influence  on  the  histories  which  were  then 
commenced  of  Christ  and  his  sayings,  and  from  which 
our  Gospels  are  in  all  probability  taken.  Hence  the 
many  expressions  of  respect  for  the  law  and  its  ob- 
servances which  we  find  attributed  to  him,  notwith- 
standing their  incompatibility  with  much  that  he  did 
and  also  with  integral  portions  of  his  teaching.  How- 
ever, the  Jewish  party  in  the  Church  was  soon  upset ; 
and,  if  some  such  explanation  of  the   contradictions 


208  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

in  the  Gospel  accounts  be  sufficient,  we  may  fairly 
accept  Paul's  as  the  true  version  of  his  Master's  doc- 
trine, and  need  have  no  uncertainty  as  to  what  that 
really  was. 

The  religion  of  Christ  then  was  the  result  of  the 
conflict  between  all  that  was  spiritually  best  in  Ju- 
daism and  its  dominating  formalism  and  increasing 
worldliness — in  other  words,  of  a  great  and  radical 
Reform  led  by  Christ,  as  the  Reformation  of  the 
Middle  Ages  was  led  by  Luther.  And  yet  it  was 
something  more  than  this  :  it  was  also  "  the  outcome 
and  combination  of  a  holy  life,  a  noble  death,  a 
wonderfully  pure  and  perfect  character  and  nature,  a 
teaching  at  once  self-proving  and  sublime,  the  whole 
absolutely  unique  in  their  impressive  loveableness." 


It  is  manifest,  from  what  has  been  said,  that  we 
cannot  consistently  attribute  the  success  of  Christi- 
anity either  to  the  novelty  or  to  the  absolute  perfec- 
tion of  its  moral  and  theological  doctrines ;  but 
rather  to  a  number  of  favoring  conditions,  which 
could  not  be  better  summed  up  than  by  the  old  ex- 
pression, "  the  Fullness  of  Time."  They  are  as  fol- 
lows : — 

I.  Christianity  owes  much  to  its  date  and  locality. 
The  Greeks  had  given  the  world  round  the  Mediter- 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS,  209 

ranean  their  culture  ;  the  Romans,  law  and  unity ; 
Paganism  had  lost  its  substance  and  vitality,  and  had 
become  a  mere  mass  of  external  forms,  attractive 
only  to  the  vulgar  and  uneducated  ;  Greek  philosophy 
(especially  Platonism)  had  spiritualized  religious 
thought,  and  familiarized  men's  minds  with  anticipa- 
tions of  the  leading  Christian  ideas  ;  in  illustration 
of  which  may  be  cited  the  teaching  of  Philo,  as 
already  briefly  described  in  this  chapter.  All  things 
were  then  ready  for  the  new  and  more  spiritual  expres- 
sion of  the  religious  consciousness ;  politically  and 
intellectually,  the  wants  of  the  civilized  world  were 
fairly  supplied  ;  religiously,  there  was  uneasiness  and 
vague  discontent.  Many  were  driven  by  this  state 
of  things  into  Judaism,  with  its  nobler  theories  of 
the  Deity  and  of  the  Divine  government ;  but  when 
the  reformed  Judaism  appeared  and  once  took  root, 
the  older  religion  ceased  to  attract,  and  lost  its  place 
for  ever  as  one  of  the  great  powers  of  the  world.  In 
the  words  of  an  author  whose  work  has  been  often 
used  in  these  notes,  Christianity  "  exhibits  the  stage 
of  moral  development  which  was  sure  to  be  reached 
so  soon  as  it  was  perceived  not  only  that  it  was  a 
duty  to  abstain  from  those  injuries  of  one's  fellows 
which  are  the  fruits  of  the  non-exercise  of  the  passive 
virtues,  but  that  there  were  certain  actions  beneficial 
to  others  the  performance  of  which  was  required  as 
a  duty  towards  self.  When  once  the  idea  was  an- 
14 


2 to  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

nounced  that  the  performance  of  benevolent  actions 
would  be  attended  with  a  spiritual  result  beneficial 
to  the  agent,  or  would  be  pleasing  to  the  Deity,  and 
that  those  who  thus  acted  would  be  rewarded  in  the 
future  life,  there  would  be  an  ever-increasing  ten- 
dency to  look  upon  the  practice  of  benevolence  as  a 
duty,  the  neglect  of  which  would  be  visited  with 
future  punishment"  (C.  S.  Wake,  "  The  Evolution  of 
Morality,"  vol.  ii.  p.  379). 

There  is  oniy  too  much  reason  to  fear  that  this 
view  of  the  matter  cannot  fail  to  distress  many 
religious  minds,  for  whom  such  arguments  as  we 
have  been  considering  in  this  chapter  tell  but  little 
against  the  strong  personal  conviction  which  results 
from  a  steady  perseverance  in  any  faith.  We  may 
advance  what  we  fondly  imagine  to  be  convincing 
proofs  of  a  simple  explanation  of  the  origin  and 
value  of  the  creed  in  question,  but  the  heart  of  our 
hearer  whispers  to  him,  "  Never  mind  all  this ;  you 
have  experience  on  your  side,  after  all — an  experi- 
ence which  tells  you  that  you  have  not  been  trusting 
in  such  a  poor,  such  a  natural  creation  as  he  would 
make  your  creed  to  be.  Your  sustaining  help  in 
jnaiRy  an  otherwise  crushing  sorrow  and  difficulty 
can  be  only  Divine."  Well,  in  common  fairness,  the 
Christian,  when  he  says  this  to  himself,  should  not 
forget  that  the  Buddhist — to  take  the  best  example 
— has  just  the  same  confident  feeling,  the  same  ex- 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  211 

perience,  the  same  "knowledge,"  about  his  creed; 
and  the  sympathy  that  ought  to  spring  from  this 
reflection  may  help  to  strengthen  the  spirit  of  toler- 
ance, even  if  it  does  not  lead  to  a  more  logical  esti- 
mate of  the  precise  value  of  this  kind  of  testimony. 

2.  The  character  of  Christ  himself  was  quite  as 
important  a  factor  in  the  success  of  his  doctrine  as 
its  environment :  his  simple,  pure  life,  and  brave 
death,  could  not  but  appeal  strongly  to  men's  love 
and  admiration ;  and  that,  too,  with  increased  force, 
so  soon  as  the  doctrine  of  his  Divinity  was  once 
plainly  promulgated.  As  it  has  been  well  said : 
"  Men  are  guided  by  types,  not  by  argument :  some 
winning  instance  must  be  set  up  before  them,  or  the 
sermon  will  be  vain,  and  the  doctrine  will  not  spread 

...  It  is  the  life  of  teachers  which  is  catching,  not 
their  tenets  "  ("  Physics  and  Politics,"  p.  90). 

3.  The  Christian  theology,  with  its  definite  pro- 
mises of  rewards  and  very  comprehensible  punish- 
ments hereafter.  Comparison  with  any  other  creed 
that  may  be  selected  will  at  once  show  the  superiority 
of  Christianity  in  this  respect.  Here  should  also  be 
noticed  the  great  temporary  value  of  the  Messianic 
idea,  which  gave  firmness  and  persistence  to  the 
belief  in  Christ's  miraculous  nature,  until  it  was 
merged  in  the  doctrine  of  his  Divinity. 

4.  There  are  a  number  of  minor  points  which 
might  be  enumerated,  but  briefly  to  point  out  one 


212  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

or  two  must  now  suffice.  Such  are — the  great 
services  rendered  to  the  young  rehgion  by  Paul, 
especially  in  rescuing  it  out  of  the  timid  hands  of 
the  Jewish  party,  under  whose  mismanagement  it 
threatened  at  one  time  to  become  a  mere  compro- 
mise with  the  old  formalism.  Then,  too,  may  be 
noticed  the  practical  common  sense  shown  in  the 
concession  of  certain  points  logically  at  issue  with 
its  own  higher  principles.  Take  slavery,  for  instance, 
which  the  Essenes  had  forbidden.  To  allow  it  was 
morally  a  step  back,  from  a  Christian  standpoint. 
But  Christ  himself  had  laid  down  a  sort  of  sliding 
scale  of  virtue  :  "  He  that  is  able  to  receive  it,  let 
him  receive  it " — no  burdens,  not  even  moral  ones, 
were  to  be  laid  on  men's  backs  which  they  could 
not  bear.  In  Buddhism  there  is  just  the  same  con- 
cession, in  the  form  of  grades  of  discipleship  ;  the 
first,  or  lowest,  merely  having  to  obey  the  very 
simplest  rules  of  good  conduct. 


Still  further  ground  for  explaining  the  appearance 
of  Christianity  by  means  of  the  evolution  theory  is 
found  in  some  of  the  results  that  naturally  followed 
from  the  practice  of  its  doctrines  by  the  Church ; 
for  by  the  many  moral  deficiencies,  judged  from  a 
modern  point  of  view,  which  it  thus  exhibits,   its 


CHRISTIAN    ETHICS.  2I3 

true  character,  as  a  natural  stage  in  human  develop- 
ment, is  most  distinctly  shown. 

The  early  Christian,  though  set  free  from  the 
superstitions  of  ceremonialism,  was  left  a  slave  to 
many  others,  which  fatally  hindered  the  growth  of 
his  moral  consciousness.  Thus,  for  instance,  he 
firmly  believed  that  he  was  surrounded  by  countless 
demons  (cf.  Eph.  vi.  12),  whose  sole  business  was 
his  damnation :  the  result  being  a  cowardly  anxiety 
and  preoccupation,  which  often  broke  out  into  vio- 
lent asceticism  and  cruelty,  and  was  an  effectual  bar 
to  his  further  progress.  For  protection  he  had  re- 
course to  magic — another  source  of  weakness — and 
believed  in  the  use  of  names,  relics,  etc.;  and  again, 
this  faith  in  demonism,  combined  with  anxious  solic- 
itude about  his  future  state,  caused  him  to  shrink 
from  all  contact  with  heathens,  and  to  hate  their 
work — art  and  learning  alike — than  which  a  greater 
hindrance  to  secular  culture  cannot  well  be  imagined. 
And  this  conduct,  it  must  be  remembered,  was  in 
direct  consequence  of  the  twin  theories  of  Terrorism 
and  Asceticism ;  therefore  the  responsibility  of 
Christianity  for  these  results  cannot  be  ignored.  In 
those  days  religion  was  a  much  more  vital  matter 
than  it  is  now ;  when,  whatever  a  man's  actions  may 
be,  we  should  seldom  be  justified  in  ascribing  them 
to  the  effects  of  his  creed.  But  in  the  past  it  was 
very  different  ;  and  it  is  fair  to  say  that  the  general 


214  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

proceedings  of  any  particular  church  or  body  of 
Christians  should  be  regarded  as  the  natural  con- 
sequence of  their  religious  beliefs  far  more  than  of 
their  own  personal  characters. 

That  the  attempts  to  rise,  by  the  aid  of  asceti- 
cism, superior,  not  merely  to  the  best  morality  of 
the  time,  but  even  to  the  highest  practicable  state, 
were  accompanied  by  many  relapses,  was  only  what 
might  have  been  expected.  As  early  as  the  second 
century  Irenaeus  speaks  of  much  secret  wickedness 
amongst  the  Church  leaders,  and  finds  consolation  in 
the  thought  that  they  could  not  hope  to  escape  their 
eternal  punishment;  whilst,  according  to  Cyprian, 
the  sufferings  of  the  Church  in  the  Decian  persecu- 
tion were  "the  just  penalty  of  her  ineradicable  cor- 
ruption. Bishops  neglected  their  sacred  functions 
to  devote  themselves  to  the  accumulation  of  wealth 
wrung  from  the  poor,  while  possessions  gained  by 
fraud  were  increased  by  merciless  usury.  As  for 
the  priesthood,  it  had  neither  purity  of  faith,  charity 
of  works,  nor  discipline  of  morals  ;  while  the  laity 
were  given  over  to  avarice  and  cheating,  blasphemy 
and  slander."  It  would  be  easy  to  give  abundant 
proof  of  the  low  morality  that  really  prevailed  in 
those  days,  on  which  we  are  too  apt  to  look  back, 
with  uncritical  sentiment,  as  a  golden  age.  We  are 
in  fact  blinded  to  their  true  character  by  those 
judicious  selections  of  truth  and  fiction,  which  make 


CHRISTIAN    ETHICS.  21$ 

up  what  is  commonly  known  as  Church  History. 
Far  more  accurate  indications  of  the  actual  morality 
of  the  time  may  be  got  by  reading  some  of  its  curious 
literature,  where  much  trustworthy,  because  indirect 
and  unintentional,  evidence  may  be  gathered.  The 
Apocryphal  Gospels  of  the  Infancy  of  Christ,  for 
example,  abound  in  stories  of  the  miraculous  child 
punishing  with  death  or  severe  suffering  those  who 
offended  him  in  his  play,  or  on  other  trifling  occa- 
sions ;  and  these  are  told  with  grave  approval  and 
for  some  time  were  implicitly  believed  in  by  the 
Church,  What  could  show  more  plainly  that  in  her 
eyes  might  was  right  ?  Justice  and  mercy  are  ignored 
in  such  supposed  exhibitions  of  power,  in  which  we 
find  nothing  better  than  the  savage's  creed  that  his 
chief  cannot  do  wrong. 


In  conclusion  let  us  note  the  tendency  of  the 
moral  alterations  in  progress  at  the  present  day  ;  how 
the  staunch  orthodoxy  of  the  earlier  Church  is  being 
replaced  by  a  semi-orthodoxy  or  eclecticism  which 
refuses  admittance  to  much  of  the  old  creed.  What 
may  be  called  the  theological-examination  theory  of 
salvation,  as  propounded  in  the  Athanasian  Creed 
for  instance,  is  daily  losing  ground ;  the  gross  injus- 
tice  of  the    doctrine    of   "  election "   (by   which   a 


2l6  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

favored  minority  gain  what  it  would  have  cost 
Divine  Omnipotence  no  trouble  to  bestow  on  all) 
will  also  prove  fatal  to  it ;  also  that  vicarious  punish- 
ment was  needed  to  satisfy  God's  justice,  and  that 
finite  error  calls  for  an  infinite  retribution,  together 
with  the  theory  of  original  sin,  are,  we  may  be 
sure,  amongst  the  doomed  beliefs.  No  amount  of 
skilful  polish  can  disguise  the  real  character  and  sav- 
age origin  of  such  doctrines  much  longer ;  and  when 
this  spirit  of  selection,  or  "  heresy,"  has  once  become 
strong  by  exercise  on  these  moral  questions,  we 
may  safely  prophesy  that  it  will  not  then  rest  content 
but  will  pass  on  to  those  that  are  more  especially 
intellectual.  Sliding  dogmatism  \'s>  a  fair  term  for  the 
continual  process  of  letting  go  which  distinguishes 
many  of  the  liberal  party  in  the  Church  ;  they  throw 
out  a  doctrine  now  and  again  as  quietly  as  possible, 
to  the  pursuing  wolves  of  criticism  ;  always  main- 
taining, however,  that  it  was  no  original  part  of  the 
Christian  faith,  and  professing  an  absolute  certitude 
in  what  is  left — until  another  has  to  go. 

And  not  only  is  the  old  creed  being  thus  corrected, 
it  is  also  being  very  largely  added  to  :  for  the  gospel 
ethics  do  not  take  sufficient  account  of  the  practical 
business  of  this  life.  "  The  sacredness  of  work, 
our  duty  of  contributing  to  the  best  of  our  power 
to  the  material  prosperity  of  mankind,  and  of  pro- 
viding for  the  future,  as  well  as  other  such  truths 


CHRISTIAN   ETHICS.  21/ 

and  duties,  receive  no  recognition."  There  is  a  cer- 
tain rough  strength  needed  for  success  and  happiness 
in  this  daily  Hfe  of  ours,  by  no  means  compounded 
of  purely  Christian  virtues ;  and,  in  this  point,  we 
may  note  the  superiority,  or  at  all  events  greater 
completeness,  of  the  Rabbinical  doctrines ;  whilst 
in  another,  the  duty  of  kindness  to  animals,  a  similar 
superiority  is  found  in  Buddhism.  But  the  greatest 
deficiency  of  all,  the  chief  cause  of  weakness,  in 
Christianity,  when  tried  by  a  modern  standard,  is 
unquestionably  its  indifference  to  the  virtues  of  the 
intellect.  We  may  go  even  further,  and  say,  its 
incapacity  to  recognize  them,  owing  to  an  inherent 
and  profound  distrust  of  human  intelligence,  in  this 
so  essentially  difTering  from  the  reasonableness  of 
science.  For  while  religion  proudly  claims  to  have 
received  a  supernatural  revelation,  worthy  of  absolute 
credit,  science  can  only  accept  as  her  doctrines  the 
systematized  result  of  a  careful  study  of  nature  ;  for 
the  one,  truth  is  what  she  believes ;  for  the  other, 
simply  what  she  knows.  "  Not  by  stifling  doubts 
that  may  arise,  says  Science,  but  only  by  patient 
investigation  of  the  evidence,  can  a  man  honestly 
earn  his  belief ;  and  if  the  evidence  be  insufficient, 
he  has  no  right  to  believe  at  all."  This  serious  short- 
coming on  the  part  of  historical  Christianity  has  not 
received  due  attention.  It  not  merely  neglects,  but 
positively  depreciates  the  intellectual  virtues,  such  as 


2l8  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 

fearless  truthfulness  in  study  and  thought,  hatred  of 
dulness  and  insipidity,  unwilhngness  to  bow  to  mere 
authority  without  careful  examination,  and  the  nec- 
essity for  their  cultivation.  The  education  of  humanity 
must  be  all-inclusive  to  be  satisfactory  ;  and  this  care- 
lessness with  regard  to  intellectual  development  still 
bears  fruit  in  the  too  frequent  occurrence  of  an 
insipid  piety  or  a  stupid  fanaticism  in  the  place  pf 
true  moral  feeling.  Average  modern  religion  is  only 
a  respectable  veneer,  entirely  failing  to  reach  men's 
hearts,  and  its  chief  claims  to  existence  are  expe- 
diency, example  to  others,  and  the  like ;  the  reason 
for  which  is  that  the  Church,  in  the  past,  canonized 
popular  ignorance,  in  her  desire  for  a  blind  obedi- 
ence to  her  own  authority. 

The  business  of  reason  is,  however,  better  under- 
stood now,  and  it  is  a  sorry  look-out  for  institutions 
whose  policy  is  to  underrate  its  value  and  rights. 
But  England  is  not  so  far  advanced  as  France  or 
Germany  in  the  new  criticism.  "  To  our  English 
race,"  says  Mr.  Matthew  Arnold,  "  with  its  insularity, 
its  profound  faith  in  action,  its  contempt  for  dream- 
ers and  failers ;  inadequate  ideals  of  life,  manners, 
government,  thought,  religion,  will  always  be  a  source 
of  danger.  Energetic  action  makes  up,  we  think,  for 
imperfect  knowledge.  We  think  that  all  is  well, 
that  a  man  is  following  a  *  moral  impulse '  if  he  pur- 
sues an  end  which  he  *  deems  of  supreme  importance.' 


CHRISTIAN    ETHICS.  219 

We  impose  neither  on  him  nor  on  ourselves  the 
duty  of  discerning  whether  he  is  right  in  deeming  it 
so."  But  rehgious  conservatism  cannot  do  more 
than  retard  the  growth  of  the  intellectual  conscience  : 
and  when  once  men  cease  to  be  satisfied  with  feeling 
a  thing  to  be  right,  but  go  on  to  ask,  "  Ought  we  to 
feel  this  to  be  right  ?  " — a  good  deal  of  dry  light  will 
be  thrown  on  many  respectable  old  dogmas.  Most 
persons  have  unfortunately  been  content  to  live  in 
the  midst  of  creeds  differing  from  their  own,  taking 
Pharisaic  comfort  in  the  thought  that  the  others 
were  all  wrong,  and  their  followers  blind  at  best — • 
but  probably  wicked.  However,  this  happy  con- 
viction cannot  long  resist  a  wider  knowledge  ;  and 
when  once  there  has  flashed  across  a  man's  mind  the 
extreme  improbability  that,  with  so  many  existing 
creeds,  his  should  be  the  only  true  one,  the  com- 
mencement of  religious  tolerance  is  the  certain  re- 
sult. Thus  then  we  may  hope  that  our  growing 
acquaintance  with  the  good  work  and  noble  thoughts 
of  other  religions  will  free  us  from  that  worst  im- 
morality of  the  intellect — perseverance  in  prejudice — 
and  help  us  towards  the  philosophical  frame  of  mind 
recommended  in  a  wise  Parsi  saying :  "  If  thou  art  a 
Mussulman  go  stay  with  the  Franks;  if  a  Christian, 
join  the  Jews  ;  if  a  Shiah,  mix  with  the  schismatics : 
whatever  thy  religion,  associate  with  men  of  opposite 
persuasion.     If  in  hearing  their  discourses  thou  art 


220  CHRISTIAN    ETHICS. 

not  in  the  least  moved,  but  canst  mix  with  them 
freely,  thou  hast  attained  peace,  and  art  a  master  of 
creation." 

In  concluding  this  chapter,  it  may  not  be  al- 
together superfluous  to  utter  a  word  of  warning 
against  the  danger  of  being  unjust  in  our  estimate 
of  what  Christianity  and  the  Church  have  done  for 
man :  for  they  have  been  two  chief  factors  in  Euro- 
pean civilization,  and  it  would  be  singular  indeed  for 
believers  in  Evolution,  of  all  persons,  to  deny  their 
beneficence  and  importance.  If  in  the  preceding 
pages  these  have  been  insufficiently  dwelt  upon,  the 
more  pressing  claims  of  other  points  on  our  con- 
sideration must  be  the  excuse. 

And  now  that  we  have  reached  the  end  of  this 
historical  portion  of  our  Notes,  may  we  not  fairly 
sum  up  our  conclusions  as  to  the  origin  and  histori- 
cal position  of  Christianity  in  some  such  manner  as 
this? — The  Eastern  world  was  fortunate  in  possess- 
ing many  great  moral  and  religious  teachers  ;  and  it 
was  out  of  their  doctrines,  ever  increasing  in  per- 
fection as  time  went  on,  that  was  gradually  and 
naturally  built  up  the  most  complete  and  beautiful 
religion  of  all.  Hence  (we  may  say)  it  was  necessary 
that,  in  the  process  of  evolution,  this  development 
should  be  reached,  and  that  Christianity  should 
come :  yet  this  is  no  reason  why  we  need  hesitate  to 
add — but  blessed  be  he  through  whom  it  came. 


CHAPTER     III. 

"MORALITY   IS   THE   NATURE   OF   THINGS." 

It  is  not  improbable  that  many  of  the  points  noted 
in  this  chapter  will  seem,  to  persons  but  slightly 
acquainted  with  the  conclusions  of  modern  ethical 
science,  startling  and  even  painful :  so  it  may  be  as 
well  to  begin  by  reminding  ourselves  that  the  true 
spirit  of  inquiry  should  be  as  ready  to  recognize  or 
to  infer  one  truth  as  another,  and  that  impatience 
and  disgust  on  these  occasions  are  too  often  merely 
signs  of  prejudice.  Like  the  former  chapters,  this 
also  will  consist  very  largely  of  extracts — now,  how- 
ever, from  the  works  of  the  chief  English  exponents 
of  the  moral  doctrines  based  on  modern  science — 
that  is  to  say,  of  Spencer,  Darwin,  Tylor,  Lubbock, 
and  others.  By  adopting  this  plan,  not  only  is 
greater  accuracy  of  expression  gained,  but  also,  as 
Mr.  Ruskin  somewhere  says,  "  More  true  force  of 
persuasion  may  be  obtained  by  rightly  choosing  and 
arranging  what  others  have  said,  than  by  painfully 
saying  it  again  in  one's  own  way."  There  is  a  plea- 
sant combination  of  modesty  and  laziness  in  the 
thought,  with  quite  enough  truth  about  it  to  sanctify 
their  union.     Since,  moreover,  these  notes  are  only 

221 


222  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

intended  as  an  easy  introduction  to  the  study  of 
certain  not  very  abstruse  points  in  modern  ethics,  it 
is  hardly  necessary  to  apologize  for  their  somewhat 
discursive  and  unconnected  form. 


When  speaking  of  certain  lines  of  conduct  as 
moral,  and  of  others  as  immoral,  what  we  principally 
mean  to  imply  in  these  days  is  that  the  former  are 
beneficial,  the  latter  detrimental,  if  generally  prac- 
ticed. Hence  morality  must  be,  not  only  different 
in  different  places,  but  constantly  changing  in  the 
same  place,  as  the  environment  alters  ;  and  we  may 
expect  to  find  some  moral  characteristics  dying  out, 
qualities  at  one  time  useful  and  admirable  becoming 
harmful  and  objectionable,  primitive  vices  slowly 
disappearing,  and  many  efforts  to  be  better  than 
circumstances  permit  unsuccessfully  made,  in  the 
long  history  of  human  development.  It  is,  happily, 
no  longer  possible  to  fall  into  the  old  error  of  regard- 
ing morality  as  a  purely  conventional  or  artificial 
matter :  as  we  now  know,  its  form  is  invariably 
regulated  by  the  natural  surroundings,  the  conditions 
of  society,  and  a  variety  of  external  and  temporary 
factors.  Imagine,  for  one  moment,  how  impossible 
it  would  be  for  any  society  to  exist,  if  its  members 
were  perfectly  indifferent  to  all  questions  of  right 


NATURAL   MORALITY.  223 

and  wrong ;  if  they  robbed,  ill-treated,  murdered  one 
another  in  the  most  casual  way ;  if  they  took  no 
trouble  to  provide  for  future  wants,  or  to  rear  their 
children ;  if,  in  one  word,  they  had  not  even  the 
elements  of  morality  whereby  to  direct  their  lives. 
The  process  of  natural  selection,  then,  can  logically 
account  for  the  formation  and  continuance  of  certain 
rules  of  conduct,  since  without  them  men  would 
have  been  kept  in  isolation,  and  the  race  would  have 
soon  ceased  to  exist.  Indeed,  we  may  observe  a 
rudimentary  sympathy  amongst  gregarious  animals 
.  that  must  be  explained  in  the  same  way :  solitary 
individuals  of  their  species  would  be  without  pro- 
tection or  warning  against  their  enemies,  whilst  those 
sociably  inclined  would  possess  this  advantage,  which 
by  itself  is  enough  to  account  for  their  survival. 
Our  first  conclusion  then  is  that,  however  rude  and 
barbarous  a  nation  may  be,  some  rules  of  right  and 
wrong  it  must  observe,  or  its  union  cannot  last. 
"  But  as  to  what  acts  have  been  held  right  and 
wrong,  the  student  must  avoid  that  error  which  the 
proverb  calls  measuring  other  people's  corn  by  one's 
own  bushel.  Not  judging  the  customs  of  nations  at 
other  stages  of  culture  by  his  own  modern  standard, 
he  has  to  bring  his  knowledge  to  the  help  of  his 
imagination,  so  as  to  see  institutions  where  they 
belong  and  as  they  work.  Only  thus  can  it  be  made 
clear   that   the  rules  of  good  and    bad,    right   and 


224  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

wrong,  are  not  fixed  alike  for  all  men  at  all  times. 
For  an  example  of  this  principle,  let  us  observe  how 
people  at  different  stages  of  civilization  deal  with 
the  aged.  Some  of  the  lower  races  take  much  care 
of  their  old  folks  even  after  they  are  fallen  into  imbe- 
cility, treating  them  with  almost  gentle  considerate- 
ness,  and  very  commonly  tending  them  till  death, 
when  respect  to  the  living  ancestor  passes  into  his 
worship  as  an  ancestral  spirit.  But  among  other 
tribes  filial  kindness  breaks  down  earlier,  as  among 
those  fierce  Brazilians  who  knock  on  the  head  with 
clubs  the  sick  and  aged,  and  even  cat  them,  whether 
they  find  their  care  too  burdensome,  or  whether  they 
really  think,  as  they  say,  that  it  is  kind  to  end  a  life 
no  longer  gladdened  with  fight  and  feast  and  dance. 
The  horde  must  move  in  quest  of  game,  the  poor 
failing  creature  cannot  keep  up  in  the  march,  the 
hunters  and  the  heavily  laden  women  cannot  carry 
him  ;  he  must  be  left  behind  "  (Tylor,  "  Anthro- 
pology," p.  410). 

If  space  permitted,  it  would  be  quite  possible  to 
trace  the  development  of  the  different  virtues  from 
their  rudimentary  forms — their  origins  as  so  many 
advantages  in  the  struggle  for  existence,  up  to  their 
present  proud  position  as  delicate  moral  sentiments. 
This  could  be  done  with  nearly  all — such  as,  for 
example,  courage,  patriotism,  gratitude,-  frankness, 
temperance,  fidelity ;  whilst  in    the  case  of  others, 


NATURAL   MORALITY.  225 

such  as  humility,  devotion,  modesty,  kindness  to 
animals,  it  might  be  shown  that  these  were  supple- 
mentary to  the  former — that  is,  necessary  or  logical 
extensions  of  the  same  root  ideas.  One  example, 
however,  must  suffice — that,  namely,  of  love  for 
others,  or  Altruism. 

The  normal  state  of  wild  life — that  is,  of  all  life  in 
the  earliest  times — is  one  of  general  hostility ;  but, 
as  we  have  seen,  some  rudiments  of  a  give-and-take 
policy  are  absolutely  essential  to  the  existence  of  a 
tribe,  or  confederacy,  of  men,  however  rude  may  be 
the  bonds  that  keep  them  together.  Self-preserva- 
tion, and  similar  considerations,  were  probably  the 
first  motives  that  led  men  to  associate  with  one  an- 
other: united,  they  would  gain  so  many  advantages 
in  hunting  or  in  fighting.  Many  animals,  as  we 
have  noticed,  are  quite  able  to  appreciate  these 
points  ;  and  amongst  some  of  the  higher  gregarious 
kinds  a  very  perceptible  development  of  fellow-feel- 
ing is  the  result.  They  "  take  pleasure  in  one  an- 
other's company,  warn  one  another  of  danger,  defend 
and  aid  one  another  in  many  ways.  These  instincts 
do  not  extend  to  all  the  individuals  of  the  species, 
but  only  to  those  of  the  same  community.  As  they 
are  highly  beneficial  to  the  species,  they  have  in  all 
probability  been  acquired  through  natural  selection" 
(Darwin,  "  Descent  of  Man,"  p.  6io). 

Of  the  human  federations  so  formed,  some,  be- 
15 


226  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

coming  indifferent  as  to  how  individual  members 
behaved  to  one  another,  would  break  up  or  die  out : 
only  those  surviving  and  flourishing  which  en- 
couraged to  some  perceptible  extent  the  special 
social  virtues,  amongst  which  rank  highly  the  per- 
manent family  relations — those,  viz.,  of  husband  and 
wife,  and  parents  and  children.  The  typical  savage 
has  an  intense  sense  of  his  own  personal  importance ; 
his  passions  are  very  uncontrollable ;  he  cannot  en- 
dure thwarting  or  contradiction ;  the  feelings  of 
others  get  but  small  consideration  at  his  hands ;  he 
is  fond  of  power  and  tyranny.  But  all  these  quali- 
ties are  antagonistic  to  tribal  unity,  and  without  that 
his  chance  of  survival  is  but  slight.  Hence  the  free 
indulgence  of  his  nature  under  no  social  restraints 
meaning  destruction,  he  is  forced  to  begin  the  educa- 
tion of  his  very  unsympathetic  disposition.  And  so 
we  find  consideration  for  others  first  shown  because 
the  tribes  who  practise  it,  to  however  moderate  an 
extent,  will  be  able  to  kill  the  isolated,  friendless 
human  beings  who  are  without  it. 

Still  hating  all  men  not  members  of  their  tribe, 
by  daily  habits  of  co-operation  within  its  limits, 
savages  are  led  to  a  practice  that  must  soon  create 
the  germs  of  trust,  gratitude,  kindness ;  such  quali- 
ties again  being  advantageous,  in  the  sense  that  a 
tribe  possessing  them  would,  other  things  equal, 
easily  conquer  another  in  which  they  were  not  de- 


NATURAL   MORALITY.  22y 

veloped.  Similarly,  obedience,  fidelity,  and  affection 
for  their  chief  would  arise — also  as  military  advan- 
tages. Moreover,  the  warlike  state,  as  we  had  occa- 
sion to  notice  in  the  last  chapter,  is  full  of  scope  for 
the  cultivation  of  many  improving  qualities ;  whilst 
the  benevolent  feelings,  being  concentrated  within 
narrow  boundaries,  thereby  gain  in  definiteness  and 
intensity.  And  as  civilization  advances,  and  a  more 
settled  state  permits  the  sexual  and  parental  rela- 
tions to  become  closer  and  more  enduring,  sympathy 
and  its  various  manifestations  will  steadily  continue 
to  develop. 

In  time  many  tribes  are  united  by  conquest  or 
treaty,  and  form  a  nation ;  and  it  then  becomes 
necessary  to  extend  the  practice  of  friendship  to  a 
far  wider  circle.  Another  bond  of  union  will  be 
found  in  similarity  of  religious  belief:  we  may 
notice,  for  example,  how  the  mediaeval  Christians, 
whilst  approving  of  truth  and  beneficence  in  the  ab- 
stract, still  thought  it  quite  unnecessary  to  keep 
faith  with,  or  show  the  smallest  kindness  to  heretics. 
But  all  these  limitations,  with  their  gradual  exten- 
sions, are  requisite  steps  in  the  formation  of  a  sure 
humanitarianism,  which  will  some  day  most  certainly 
be  man's  chief  moral  characteristic.  The  beauty  of 
this  virtue  has  been  again  and  again  perceived  by 
religious  teachers,  and  they  have  tried  to  induce 
their    hearers   to   practise   it ;    but    its    "  fulness   of 


228  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

time "  not  having  yet  arrived,  such  efforts  have 
always  proved  futile.  Our  intellectual  development, 
owing  to  its  being  less  antagonistic  to  man's  original 
nature,  and  also  to  the  more  immediate  advantages 
arising  from  its  exercise,  has  made  far  more  progress 
than  our  moral ;  we  can  consequently  most  of  us  ap- 
preciate the  attractiveness  of  virtues  that  only  a  few 
can,  very  partially,  practice.  But,  so  far  as  we  do 
possess  it,  our  love  for  humanity  is  the  result  of  a 
constant  action  and  reaction  between  sympathy  and 
sociality,  "  each  as  cause  and  consequence,  greater 
sympathy  making  possible  greater  sociality,  public 
and  domestic,  and  greater  sociality  serving  further  to 
cultivate  sympathy." 

Another  simple  example  of  moral  development 
along  a  similar  line  of  natural  expansion  is  briefly 
and  clearly  given  in  an  Article  on  "  The  Natural 
History  of  Morals,"  in  the  "  North  British  Review," 
vol.  xlvii.  p.  389:  "  First  the  command  was.  Thou 
shalt  kill  no  one  who  lives  in  your  tents :  next.  Thou 
shalt  kill  no  one  who  lives  in  your  own  valley :  next, 
Thou  shalt  kill  no  one  who  speaks  the  same  lan- 
guage, worships  the  same  gods,  and  dwells  in  the 
same  land  as  yourself:  and  finally  the  lapse  of  ages 
brings  the  precept.  Thou  shalt  kill  no  one  who 
has  not  forfeited  his  life  by  committing  murder,  by 
striving  to  take  your  life,  or  by  entering  the  lists  of 
battle  against  your  country.     That  is  the  length  to 


NATURAL   MORALITY.  229 

which  modern  civilization  has  reached.  Modern 
civihzation  does  not  say  that  it  is  wrong  to  kill: 
what  it  condemns  is  the  killing  of  certain  men." 

Like  other  moral  qualities,  the  religious  feelings 
also  may  be  shown  to  have  an  easily  traceable 
natural  origin  of  their  own.  Of  course  in  their 
higher  development,  as  has  often  been  pointed  out, 
so  far  from  being  an  advantage  in  the  struggle  for 
existence,  religion  and  its  noblest  characteristics 
(self-abnegation,  a  delicate  sense  of  moral  duty,  and 
the  like)  would  have  been  positively  fatal  to  their 
possessors  in  the  early  ages  of  the  world.  But  the 
rudimentary  qualities  which  constitute  the  basis  of 
all  religions,  and  with  which  alone  we  are  here  con- 
cerned, come  under  the  category  of  distinct  primitive 
advantages.  The  chief  business  of  early  savage 
races  was  undoubtedly  war:  and,  since  an  army  can- 
not be  ruled  by  a  committee,  since  on  such  occasions 
one  supreme  head  is  absolutely  necessary  (as  the 
Israelites  were  shrewd  enough  to  see  when  they  de- 
manded a  king) — in  this,  a  simple  military  require- 
ment, we  find  the  raison  d'etre  of  veneration,  awe, 
dependence  —  the  primary  religious  sentiments. 
From  obedience  to  and  reverence  for  the  living 
chief,  it  was  but  a  step  to  worship  and  propitiate  his 
ghost ;  and,  as  Mr.  Spencer  has  pointed  out  ("  Soci- 
ology," vol.  i.,  chaps,  xx-xxv.),  the  idea  of  gods  is 
originally  derived  from  belief  in  the  ghosts  of  dead 


230  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

ancestors  and  chiefs.  The  superior  solidarity  and 
power  of  those  tribes  in  which  loyalty  was  developed 
is,  then,  sufficient  to  account  for  the  origin,  survival, 
and  growth  of  the  religious  feelings. 


Nothing  can  be  more  curious,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  more  instructive,  than  many  of  the  attempts  of 
religious  theorists  to  explain  the  great  problems  of 
life.  When,  for  example,  we  read,  in  the  IXth  Arti- 
cle of  the  Church  of  England,  of  man  being  "  very 
far  gone  from  original  righteousness,"  and  that  ac- 
cordingly the  original  sin  in  his  nature  "  deserveth 
God's  wrath  and  damnation,"  we  are  at  once  trans- 
ported into  the  beliefs  of  a  pre-scientific  age,  inter- 
esting no  doubt  historically,  but  mischievous  when 
still  upheld  as  part  of  a  sacred  doctrine.  The  early 
discovery  that  the  children  frequently  suffered  for 
their  father's  sins  was  formulated,  as  might  have  been 
expected,  into  a  threat  of  divine  vengeance  ;  but  af- 
terwards, as  men  learnt  to  attribute  gentler  and  juster 
qualities  to  the  Deity,  the  old  harsh  theory  of  trans- 
mitted revenge  was  abandoned.  (Compare  Exod. 
XX.  5  with  Jer.  xxxi.  29,  30,  and  Ezek.  xviii.  2-4.) 
And  now  fact  and  sentiment  are  harmonized  in  the 
doctrine  of  Heredity — the  law,  that  is,  that  all  living 
beings  naturally  tend  to  repeat  themselves  in  their 
descendants,  with  modifications,  however,  continually 
increasing  with  the  greater  complexity  of  the  higher 


NATURAL   MORALITY.  •  23 1 

animal  organizations.  The  wonderful  success  obtained 
by  breeders  of  various  kinds  of  domestic  animals  is 
well  known  to  all :  how  by  selection  of  stock  they 
can  go  on  intensifying  any  desirable  characteristics 
almost  without  limit.  And,  unless  the  qualities  so 
produced  come  into  conflict  with  others  too  strongly 
antagonistic,  they  will  eventually  take  their  place  per- 
manently in  the  organization  of  the  animals  so  bred. 

But  generation  is  moral  as  well  as  physical  ;  it  has 
been  observed  (in  a  sufficiently  large  number  of  cases 
to  justify  us  in  saying  that  the  law  exists)  that  parents 
bequeath  their  mental  and  moral  qualities  through 
the  physical  medium.  Even  tendencies  to  drunken- 
ness, thieving,  gambling,  murder,  are  liable  to  be 
inherited ;  and  have  been  noted  when,  owing  to  the 
early  death  of  the  parents  or  the  removal  of  the  chil- 
dren in  infancy,  they  could  not  have  resulted  from 
mere  imitation  or  education.  Similarly,  there  is 
equally  good  reason  to  believe  that  virtues  are  trans- 
missible ;  that,  in  fact,  the  child,  in  inheriting  the 
physical  organization  of  its  parents,  also  inherits  all 
the  various  characteristics  and  inclinations  natural  to 
such  organization. 

Now  since  we  know  that  development  follows  from 
habit — that  the  human  mechanism  grows  to  any  ac- 
tions steadily  persisted  in — we  can  see  how  it  is  that 
national  customs  and  morality  must,  in  process  of 
time,  create  national  characteristics  ;  and   this  sug- 


232  •  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

gests  the  incalculable  value  and  importance  of  what 
may  be  termed  the  organic  development  of  virtues — 
their  evolution,  that  is,  by  the  accumulation  of  slight 
additions  through  many  generations.  The  parent 
acquires  reasonable  habits  of  self-control ;  he  avoids 
certain  vicious  tendencies  which  might  grow  into 
dangerous  instincts  in  his  children  ;  and  the  result  is 
a  slight  but  assured  improvement,  which  the  perse- 
verance of  generations  may  increase,  until  a  wonder- 
ful advance  is  at  length  secured.  On  the  other  hand, 
by  exaggerated  efforts  after  personal  virtue,  which 
only  end  in  distinct  enfeeblement  of  his  bodily 
powers,  a  parent  may  not  merely  fail  to  bequeath  any 
advance  to  his  offspring,  but  may  even  inflict  on  them 
that  most  terrible  curse,  "the  tyranny  of  a  bad  organ- 
ization." The  great  physiologist,  Burdach,  has  ex- 
pressed his  belief  that  ''  heritage  has,  in  reality,  more 
power  over  our  constitution  and  character,  than  all 
influences  from  without,  whether  moral  or  physical ;" 
and  if  this  be  so,  it  is  downright  folly  to  attempt  the 
moral  improvement  of  the  race  whilst  carelessly  dis- 
regarding the  most  powerful  factor  at  work.  [Read 
by  the  light  of  our  present  knowledge,  that  was  a 
remarkable  anticipation  of  this  policy  of  cautious 
providence  in  morality, — "  Be  not  righteous  over- 
much .  .  .  why  shouldest  thou  destroy  thyself  ?  " 
(Eccles.  vii.  l6.)]  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  point  out 
in  detail  how  all  pre-scientific  moral  systems  are  nee- 


NATURAL   MORALITY.  233 

essarily  vitiated  through  ignorance  of  this  important 
element,  the  force  of  heredity.  A  new  responsibility 
— with  prior  claims  to  all  others— is  thus  being 
brought  to  bear  on  conduct ;  and  duty  to  posterity, 
not  merely  to  ourselves,  must  now  fix  the  limits  of 
self-sacrifice  and  personal  religion.  Parents  must  aim 
at  vigor  of  constitution,  at  a  healthy  attention  to  the 
wants  of  their  nature  ;  they  must  seek  out  and  enjoy 
the  various  pleasures  which  life  offers;  avoid  dulness 
and  monotony  no  less  than  undue  excitement  and 
indulgence ;  cultivate  an  abundant  energy,  catholic 
interests,  and  all  that  diversity  of  life  and  feeling 
which  tends  to  the  preservation  of  body  and  mind  in 
the  best  state.  Such  is  the  wider  scope  of  moral  doc- 
trine under  the  direction  of  science  ;  very  different 
to  that  strict  attention  to  personal  holiness,  regardless 
of  consequences  to  others,  that  we  noted  as  charac- 
teristic of  the  earlier  systems. 


The  good  and  the  bad  qualities  of  man  being 
equally  historical  growths,  it  is  by  tracing  the  pro- 
cess of  their  development  that  we  shall  best  under- 
stand how  the  former  may  be  strengthened,  and  the 
latter  gradually  eliminated.  And  it  will  increase  our 
reasonable  hopefulness,  whilst  it  diminishes  our  im- 
patience, if  we  can  accustom  ourselves  to  the  thought 


234  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

that  the  operations  of  natural  law  are  very  slow,  but 
for  that  reason  very  sure. 

The  ordinary  religious  conception  of  creation  is 
simply  childish,  involving  as  it  does  an  implied  belief 
in  a  moral  breakdown — a  temporary  divine  failure. 
But  we  are  now  learning,  beyond  all  possibility  of 
dispute,  that  evil  is  a  necessary  condition  of  physical 
and  mental  development ;  that  immorality  is  only 
another  expression  for  the  consequences  of  the  par- 
tial unsuitability  of  the  nature  of  man  to  his  environ- 
ment ;  that  eventually — if  time  permit — man  must 
become  perfectly  moral :  but  he  will  be  so  thanks  to 
the  harmony  of  his  whole  organization  with  his  sur- 
roundings, and  not  by  punishing  his  body,  degrading 
his  mind,  and  despising  the  world  in  which  he  lives. 

It  is,  fortunately,  possible,  by  studying  existing 
savage  races,  to  fairly  appreciate  the  general  con- 
ditions of  life  amongst  our  own  early  ancestors : 
though  we  must  remember  that  modern  savages  are, 
at  all  events  in  point  of  time,  as  far  removed  from 
primitive  man  as  we  are  :  consequently,  the  compari- 
son cannot  be  relied  on  for  minor  details,  and  should 
not  be  pressed  too  closely.  We  find,  then,  among  the 
Australians  (to  take  one  of  the  least  developed 
types)  an  entire  absence  of  certain  forms  of  senti- 
ment :  they  do  not  understand  such  ideas  as  pity  or 
generosity  ;  they  have  no  words  to  translate  such 
expressions  as  sin,  justice  or  mercy ;  murder,  espe- 


NATURAL  MORALITY.  235 

cially  infanticide,  is  very  common  among  them ; 
theft,  unchastity,  treachery,  cruelty,  are  all  accepted 
as,  with  limitations,  proper  and  natural ;  though  of 
course  tribal  and  family  rights  count  for  something 
iu  such  matters.  Nor  must  it  be  supposed  that, 
when  condemned,  these  vices  are  so  for  moral  reas- 
ons :  momentary  expediency  is  the  sole  criterion. 
As  Sir  John  Lubbock  observes  ("  Origin  of  Civiliza- 
tion," p.  384):  "Whilst  the  lowest  savages  have 
many  material  and  intellectual  attainments,  they  are, 
it  seems  to  me,  almost  entirely  wanting  in  moral 
feeling.  ...  In  fact  I  believe  that  the  lower 
races  of  men  may  be  said  to  be  deficient  in  the  idea 
of  right,  though  quite  familiar  with  that  of  law.  . 
.  .  This  is  a  conviction  altogether  opposed  to 
my  preconceived  ideas  on  the  subject,  and  one  at 
which  I  have  arrived  by  slow  degrees,  and  even  with 
reluctance."  So,  too,  Mr.  Darwin  notes  ("  Descent 
of  Man,"  p.  118),  "The  greatest  intemperance,  with 
savages,  is  no  reproach.  Their  utter  licentiousness, 
not  to  mention  unnatural  crimes,  is  something  as- 
tounding." 

The  more,  indeed,  we  consider  the  customs  of 
savage  races,  the  more  forcibly  will  it  appear  how 
entirely  their  morality  is,  at  first,  a  simple  question 
of  utility:  though,  afterwards,  when  affected  by  tra- 
dition and  custom,  it  often  presents  further  charac- 
teristics  not   directly   traceable   to  the   criterion  of 


236  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

immediate  usefulness.  The  earliest  crimes  to  be 
condemned  are  interferences  with  property — personal 
belongings,  to  begin  with ;  but  naturally  in  time 
those  of  the  tribe  also : — still  so  far  we  are  only  in 
the  region  of  purely  animal  instincts,  as  any  one 
acquainted  with  dogs  and  horses  knows.  The  next 
moral  idea  in  order  of  appearance  is  the  sense  of 
personal  rights — beyond  property :  of  these,  one  of 
the  most  important  finds  expression  in  the  duty  of 
blood-revenge ;  another  in  regard  for  the  rights  of 
the  dead.  The  superstitious  dread  of  spirit  retribu- 
tion leads  to  the  development  of  a  more  advanced 
standard  of  right  and  wrong ;  ceremonial  observ- 
ances are  invented,  and  the  savage  mind  learns  to 
look  upon  it  as  a  duty  to  fulfil  the  wishes  of  the 
spirits  connected  with  his  tribe  :  mainly  from  fear, 
no  doubt,  but  there  is  also  the  idea  of  these  spirits 
possessing  certain  rights,  which  must  be  respected. 
In  the  fourth  chapter  of  the  "  Descent  of  Man," 
Mr.  Darwin  enters  at  some  length  into  the  general 
question  of  moral  development,  and  he  particularly 
notices  that  the  welfare  of  the  tribe  supplies  the 
invariable  criterion  of  conduct,  and  that  savages 
naturally  think  but  little  of  virtues  that  do  not  obvi- 
ously affect  that  welfare.  "  The  chief  causes,"  he 
remarks,  "  of  the  low  morality  of  savages,  as  judged 
by  our  own  standard,  are — firstly,  the  confinement 
of  sympathy  to  the  same  tribe ;  secondly,  powers  of 


NATURAL   MORALITY.  237 

reasoning  insufficient  to  recognize  the  bearing  of 
many  virtues,  especially  of  the  self-regarding  virtues, 
on  the  general  welfare  of  the  tribe." 

We  may  reasonably  enough  conclude  that  amongst 
primitive  men,  subject  to  a  keen  competition  for  the 
means  of  existence,  constant  warfare  with  one 
another  and  with  wild  beasts  would  encourage  a 
predatory  disposition,  which  in  turn  would  lead  to 
the  continuance  of  such  antagonism  :  the  two  being 
mutual  cause  and  effect.  On  the  other  hand,  tribal 
discipline  tending  towards  the  formation  of  rudi- 
mentary sympathies — where  the  fighting  is  either 
not  continuous,  or  is  confined  to  a  portion  of  the 
tribe,  some  advance  in  humanization  is  made ;  the 
old  predatory  instinct,  though  retarding  progress  in 
many  ways,  still  playing  a  useful  part  in  helping  to 
get  rid  of  those  inferior  races  which  are  only  so 
many  hindrances  in  the  way  of  "  the  great  scheme 
of  perfect  happiness." 

As  Mr.  Spencer  remarks  (and  we  would  call  par- 
ticular attention  to  this  quotation),  "  Only  by  giving 
us  some  utterly  different  mental  constitution  could 
the  process  of  civilization  have  been  altered.  Assume 
that  the  creative  scheme  is  to  be  wrought  out  by 
natural  means,  and  it  is  necessary  that  the  primitive 
man  should  be  one  whose  happiness  is  obtained  at 
the  expense  of  the  happiness  of  other  beings.  It 
is  necessary  that  the  ultimate  man  should  be  one 


238  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

who  can  obtain  perfect  happiness  without  deducting 
from  the  happiness  of  others.  After  accompHshing 
its  appointed  purpose,  the  first  of  these  constitutions 
has  to  be  moulded  into  the  last.  And  the  manifold 
evils  which  have  filled  the  world  for  these  thousands 
of  years — the  murders,  enslavings  and  robberies,  the 
tyrannies  of  rulers,  the  oppressions  of  class,  the  per- 
secutions of  sect  and  party,  the  multiform  embodi- 
ments of  selfishness  in  unjust  laws,  barbarous  customs, 
dishonest  dealings,  exclusive  manners,  and  the  like — 
are  simply  instances  of  the  disastrous  working  of 
this  original  and  once  needful  constitution,  now  that 
mankind  has  grown  into  conditions  for  which  it  is 
not  fitted — are  nothing  but  symptoms  of  the  suffering 
attendant  upon  the  adaptation  of  humanity  to  its 
new  circumstances"  ("Social  Statics,"  p.  451). 


It  is  a  necessary  corollary  of  the  theory  of  the 
evolution  of  man,  that  his  Moral  Sense,  or  Con- 
science, was  not  one  of  his  original  endowments, 
except  in  a  very  rudimentary  form ;  much  indeed  as 
it  may  now  be  observed  to  exist  in  some  of  the 
higher  animals, — dogs,  elephants,  monkeys,  and 
others.  A  rude  experience  would  impress  on  the 
earliest  men  vague  and  inaccurate  notions  about  the 
effect  of  their  conduct  upon  themselves  and  their 


NATURAL   MORALITY.  239 

fellows  ;  and  thus  empirically  learning  what  behavior 
was  desirable  and  what  to  be  avoided,  and  correcting 
their  first  misapprehensions  by  growing  experience, 
their  reasoning  faculties  would  in  this  way  be 
constantly  employed  about  simple  questions  of  right 
and  wrong ;  to  which  add  the  general  approbation 
and  disapprobation  that  would  soon  be  attached  to 
these  lines  of  conduct  respectively,  and  we  can 
understand  how  there  would  necessarily  arise  a 
primitive  conscience.  Even  at  the  present  day  this 
sense  is  entirely  dependent  on  experience — (if  we 
include  under  that  term  inherited  qualities  and  the 
effects  of  tradition  on  the  mind) — and  is  in  conse- 
quence constantly  varying,  and  in  need  of  a  frequent 
revision  "  up  to  date."  It  is  therefore  probably  an 
error  on  our  part  to  suppose  that  our  moral  sense  is  of 
the  same  age  or  even  general  order  as  our  intelligence  ; 
it  apparently  came  into  existence  much  later  in  the 
process  of  evolution,  and  is  the  result  of  the  action 
of  social  conditions  upon  our  physical  as  well  as 
intellectual  nature.  Or,  we  may  say,  conscience  is 
the  organized  product  of  the  continued  appreciation 
by  men  of  what  appear  to  be  the  proper  rules  of 
conduct  for  them  to  follow  ;  and,  as  a  general  rule, 
it  is  strong  in  proportion  to  the  length  of  time  that 
any  one  moral  or  religious  system  has  continued  in 
force  without  much  change  in  its  leading  principles. 
Possibly  in  the  case  of  a  solitary  savage,   enough 


240  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

experience  might  be  gained  to  form  the  bare 
rudiments  of  a  conscience  ;  but  nothing  more,  since 
the  opportunities  for  its  exercise,  and  therefore 
development,  would  be  so  extremely  rare.  And 
undoubtedly  it  takes  many  men — a  society — to  study 
complex  distinctions  of  right  and  wrong,  and  so 
build  up  by  slow  degrees  a  satisfactory  moral  sense. 
It  is  only  on  the  assumption  of  such  a  historical 
origin  and  growth  of  these  sentiments  that  we  can 
account  for  the  fact  of  men  so  differing — even  to 
absolute  contradiction — in  their  moral  ideas.  As 
Mr.  George  Grote  explains  this  point:  "Amongst 
different  societies,  all  rude  and  ignorant,  in  the  early 
processes  of  association  out  of  which  ethical  senti- 
ment was  first  constituted,  mistakes  as  to  the  real 
causes  of  happiness  and  misery  would  be  innumera- 
ble, and  each  society  would  make  a  different  mistake. 
Differences  would  hence  arise  in  the  original  consti- 
tution of  ethical  sentiment,  as  conceived  by  each 
community ;  and  such  peculiarities,  when  once 
conceived  and  incorporated  with  the  general  body 
of  ethical  sentiment,  would  be  transmitted  from 
generation  to  generation,  by  the  omnipotence  of 
inherited  tendency,  early  habit  and  training"("  Frag- 
ments on  Ethical  Subjects,"  p.  19). 

Mr.  Spencer  writes  very  similarly  on  this  question  ; 
he  says — "  I  believe  that  the  experiences  of  utility 
organized  and  consolidated  through  all  past  genera- 


NATURAL   MORALITY.  24I 

tions  of  the  human  race,  have  been  producing 
corresponding  nervous  modifications,  which,  by 
continued  transmission  and  accumulation,  have 
become  in  us  certain  faculties  of  moral  intuition — 
certain  emotions  responding  to  right  and  wrong 
conduct,  which  have  no  apparent  basis  in  the 
individual  experiences  of  utility"  (From  a  letter  to 
Mr.  Mill). 

But,  it  may  be  argued,  separate  moral  aversions 
and  approvals  may  very  possibly  result  from  the 
experience  of  bad  and  good  consequences  arising  out 
of  different  lines  of  conduct ;  still  these  should  not 
be  confounded  with  Conscience,  or  the^^;z^r^/ feeling 
of  moral  obligation.  For  a  complete  answer  to  this 
objection  the  reader  must  refer  to  the  "  Data  of 
Ethics,"  chap.  vii.  124-129;  here  it  must  suflfice 
simply  to  point  out  that  this  general  sentiment  may 
be  accounted  for  in  precisely  the  same  way  as  all  our 
abstract  ideas.  What,  for  instance,  do  we  under- 
stand by  the  idea  of  color,  or  of  number?  Surely 
without  previous  experience  of  special  numbers  and 
colors  we  could  not  gain  the  corresponding  general 
ideas  ;  we  pass  to  the  abstract  by  means  of  many 
examples  of  the  concrete.  And  so  too  is  it  with  the 
history  of  the  genesis  of  the  moral  sense ;  we  find  in 
savages,  firstly,  special  aversions  and  approvals  all 
based  on  expediency ;  then  on  these  a  traditional 
morality  is  built  up,  and  by  force  of  custom  is 
16 


242  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

adhered  to,  though  not  unfrequently  entailing  loss 
and  suffering.  And  it  is  to  this  complication  that 
is  due  the  apparently  forcible  argument  that,  since 
we  find  men,  even  savages,  doing  to  their  own  dis- 
advantage what  they  feel  to  be  right,  conscience 
cannot  be  merely  the  result  of  experience,  but  implies 
a  certain  divinely  given  intuition.  The  mistake, 
however,  arises  from  not  pushing  the  inquiry  back  far 
enough,  and  asking  what  the  origin  of  these  notions 
of  Duty  apart  from  Expediency  really  are  ;  and  the 
clue  to  the  solution  lies  in  the  fact  of  the  tyrannous 
power  of  customs — especially  those  that  are  relig- 
ious— and  inherited  tendencies. 

[These  considerations,  it  will  be  observed,  also 
explain  the  origin  of  the  general  idea  of  virtue,  a 
term  implying  that  its  practice  is  sometimes  attended 
with  present  drawbacks  and  difficulties,  or  it  would 
mean  no  more  than  the  simple  appreciation  of  an 
immediate  utility.  But  if  we  obey  the  general  laws 
of  conduct,  deduced  from  a  wide  experience,  without 
stopping  to  consider  our  personal  and  proximate 
happiness  or  misery,  our  action  is  virtuous,  not  being 
influenced  by  direct  self-consideration.] 

Even  in  our  own  case,  and  still  more  so  in  the 
past  and  among  savages,  motives  such  as  an 
imagined  divine  or  human  approval  or  disapproval, 
prevent  men  from  attending  mainly  to  the  intrinsic 
nature  of   their   actions,  apart   from    any    fictitious, 


NATURAL   MORALITY.  243 

non-natural  consequences.  It  follows  that  local  and 
transient  varieties  of  theology  and  fashion  have 
been,  almost  without  exception,  the  chief  factors  in 
determining  the  accepted  code  of  morals.  Consider, 
for  example,  the  effect  on  the  early  Israelites  of 
their  belief  that  Yahveh  demanded  the  extermina- 
tion of  their  enemies,  and  was  offended  by  the 
slightest  mercy  shown  to  the  conquered ;  thus 
consecrating  revenge  and  cruelty,  "  a  policy  of  blood 
and  iron,"  and  connecting  pity  and  forgiveness  with 
the  thought  of  divine  displeasure.  Or,  again,  try 
to  imagine  how  hard  it  would  be  to  induce  most 
nineteenth-century  ladies  to  disobey  the  orders  of 
fashion — in  dress  or  otherwise  ;  and  then  reflect  hov/ 
readily  they  will  sacrifice  the  health  and  happiness 
of  their  children  to  their  own  personal  appearance ; 
how  they  enjoy  scandal  and  malice,  or  will  commit 
a  score  of  dishonorable  trifles,  if  only  these  are 
not  sins  against  their  established  deity.  Can  it  be 
denied  that  Custom  makes  conscience,  and  sanctifies 
or  condemns  conduct ;  for  even  when  its  faithful 
followers  have  rare  twinges  of  uneasiness,  need  we 
attribute  these  to  anything  more  than  a  remnant  of 
inherited  feeling,  and  (perhaps)  early  education,  not 
yet  completely  eradicated  ? 

What  a  curious  compound,  then,  is  this  conscience 
that  we  have  apotheosized  ;  a  variety  of  physically 
registered  experiences  bequeathed  to  each  man  by 


244  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

his  ancestors,  brutal  and  human  alike,  the  further 
influence  of  a  miscellaneous  collection  of  more  or 
less  intelligent  traditions,  occasionally  in  opposition 
to  the  inherited  instincts  ;  and  a  haphazard  indi- 
vidual experience,  unceasingly  qualifying  our  theo- 
retical opinions :  such  make  up  the  guide,  to  follow 
which  with  implicit  trust  seems  to  most  people  the 
only  right  thing  to  do !  Is  not  all  history — Church 
history  in  particular — one  reiterated  warning  of  the 
danger  of  listening  to  an  ignorant  conscience  ?  Can 
any  conceivable  benefit  to  morality  justify,  for  ex- 
ample, the  ghastly  catalogue  of  crime,  summed  up 
in  the  two  words — Religious  Persecution?  Led  by 
these  barbarous  efforts  after  right  into  constant  wrong, 
ought  we  not  to  submit  with  humility  to  reason :  if 
what  we  felt  to  be  right  turns  out  evil,  must  not 
feeling  be  modified,  that  we  may  change  our  course  ? 
Do  not  let  us  go  on  making  a  divinity  out  of  our 
blunders,  in  obedience  to  these  custom-made  emo- 
tions which  simply  by  alteration  of  our  habits  and 
surroundings  we  can  change  almost  indefinitely;  but 
honestly  recognize  that,  only  so  far  as  we  know,  have 
we  any  right  to  claim  a  moral  sense  at  all.  As  Mr. 
Matthew  Arnold  lately  wrote  —  "■Fidelity  to  con- 
science !  cries  the  popular  Protestantism  of  Great 
Britain  and  America,  and  thinks  that  it  has  said 
enough.  But  the  modern  analysis  relentlessly  scruti- 
nizes this  conscience,  and  compels  it  to  give  an  ac- 


NATURAL   MORALITY.  245 

count  of  itself.  What  sort  of  a  conscience  ? — a  true 
conscience  or  a  false  one  ?  '  Conscience  is  the  most 
changing  of  rules  ;  conscience  is  presumptuous  in  the 
strong,  timid  in  the  weak  and  unhappy,  wavering  in 
the  undecided  ;  obedient  organ  of  the  sentiment 
which  sways  us  and  of  the  opinions  which  govern 
us ;  more  misleading  than  reason  and  nature.'  So 
says  one  of  the  noblest  and  purest  of  moralists, 
Vauvenargues ;  and  terrible  as  it  may  be  to  the 
popular  Protestantism  of  England  and  of  America  to 
hear  it,  Vauvenargues  thus  describes  with  perfect 
truth  that  conscience  to  which  popular  Protestantism 
appeals  as  its  supposed  unshakable  ground  of  re- 
liance. Is  it  not  then  downright  folly,  whilst  our 
knowledge  of  what  really  constitutes  morality  is  in 
its  present  rudimentary  state,  to  needlessly  obscure 
the  situation  .by  imputing  a  quasi-infallibility  to  this 
variable,  prejudiced  guide?  Rather  let  it  be  tested 
by  the  facts  of  history  or  by  common  sense,  and  then 
allowed  the  moderate  influence  that  is  its  fair  due, 
but  no  more. 

•  It  is,  however,  far  easier  for  us  to  admit  the 
immorality  of  our  own  nature  than  that  our  most 
cherished  moral  and  religious  beliefs  are  no  less  in 
want  of  fundamental  correction ;  of  all  the  lessons 
to  be  learnt  from  history,  this  is  the  hardest  to  bring 
up  to  mastery  point,  and  put  into  actual  practice. 
We  read  of   the  reform  and  change  of  doctrines  in 


246  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

the  past ;  people  who  held  the  doctrines  before  those 
changes  were  as  confident  about  their  creed  as  we 
are  about  ours,  and,  for  all  their  confidence,  were 
wrong.  Let  us  repeat, — ideas  are  not  necessarily 
right  or  wrong  because  they  seem  so  to  us :  the 
tendency  to  think  so  should  be  got  rid  of  at  any 
cost ;  and  this  can  only  be  done  by  a  wide  and  con- 
tinued study,  familiarizing  us  with  the  practically 
endless  historical  and  geographical  variations  in 
morality  and  religion.  But  this  is  one  of  those  ques- 
tions where  the  feelings  are  so  strongly  enlisted  that 
argument  has  nothing  like  its  proper  force :  the 
orthodox  of  every  generation  will  for  some  time  to 
come  continue  to  regard  their  creed  as  a  religious 
summit,  and  not  merely  a  stage  on  the  way  upwards  ; 
and  it  is  only  by  a  radical  change  in  our  mental  or- 
ganization, to  be  got  by  persistence  in  scientific 
habits  of  thought,  that  the  personal  equation  in  this 
matter  can  be  reduced  to  a  more  reasonable  influence. 
Yet,  that  scientific  study  will  have  this  result,  there 
is  no  cause  for  doubt ;  and  already  may  be  observed 
an  increasing  preference  for  belief  in  facts  that  can 
be  proved,  as  compared  with  belief  in  doctrines  that 
from  their  very  nature  do  not  admit  of  proof. 


Before  continuing  these  notes  any  further,  it  may 
be  as  well,   for  greater  clearness,  to  state  the  two 


NATURAL   MORALITY.  247 

propositions  for  which  arguments  have  now  been 
advanced  : — 

(I.)  That  morality  can  only  proceed  from  experi- 
ence, or  from  deductions  based  on  experience ;  and 
that  its  original  recommendation  is  that  it  is  ad- 
vantageous. 

(.II.)  That  the  so-called  moral  sense  has  its  root 
in  our  intelligence  and  social  instincts :  that,  when 
rightly  trained,  it  approves  of  what  is  found  to  be 
indirectly,  no  less  than  directly,  desirable  for  the 
higher  civilization  of  mankind  ;  but,  wrongly  trained, 
as  we  learn  from  history,  it  can  be  brought  to  ap- 
prove of  almost  any  abomination  under  the  sun,  if 
duly  sanctified  by  custom. 

It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  the  force 
of  such  arguments  depends  chiefly  on  the  conver- 
gcncy  of  an  enormous  number  of  facts,  all  pointing 
to  the  same  conclusions.  If  the  few  mentioned  here 
are  not  sufficient  to  carry  any  persuasion  with  them, 
the  reader  should  bear  this  in  mind,  and  seek  else- 
where for  more  proof  of  the  same  description.  He 
will  find  that  little  can  be  advanced  to  even  appar- 
ently contradict  the  general  theory  of  moral  evolu- 
tion ;  and  a  faithful  study  of  the  historical  evidence 
can  hardly  fail  to  end  in  his  perception  of  the  satis- 
factory manner  in  which  this  theory  includes  and 
explains  all  that  can  be  brought  to  bear  on  the 
question. 


248  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

A  point  of  still  greater  divergence  between  the 
doctrines  of  science  and  religion  is  found  when  we 
turn  to  the  problem  of  the  nature  and  functions  of 
Evil ;  the  common  sense  of  religious  thinker^  having 
been  hopelessly  hampered  by  the  misleading  assump- 
tion of  its  introduction  into  an  innocent  world  by  an 
enemy  of  the  Creator.  Science,  on  the  other  hand, 
sees  it  to  be  an  indispensable  factor  in  the  divine 
method,  without  which,  and  the  consequent  sorrow 
and  suffering,  the  whole  notion  of  progress  would 
become  absolutely  inconceivable.  We  now  recognize 
that,  as  suffering,  evil  has  always  existed,  where 
there  have  been  living  things  to  feel  pain  and  to  die ; 
as  immorality,  it  only  came  into  existence  when 
man  became  intellectually  capable  of  distinguishing 
between  conduct  that  was  advantageous  to  his  family 
or  tribe  (or  still  earlier,  perhaps,  to  himself),  and  the 
reverse — in  other  words,  between  right  and  wrong. 
Before  this  stage,  there  was  no  such  thing  as  shi ; 
but  afterwards  it  existed  necessarily,  and  must  con- 
tinue to  do  so,  until  such  perfect  harmony  between 
man  and  his  environment  is  established  by  mutual 
modifications,  that  all  temptation  to  act  wrongly  will 
disappear,  or  become  so  slight  as  to  be  an  insufificient 
motive  to  crime.  Meanwhile,  we  must  not  forget 
that  most  of  our  vices  exist,  because  they  were  so 
many  advantages  to  our  semi-brutal  ancestors,  in 
whose   lives   cruelty,    selfishness,   deceit,  sensuality, 


NATURAL   MORALITY.  249 

were  profitable  accomplishments.  It  is,  after  all, 
only  the  happy  result  of  evolution  that  has  changed 
these  qualities  into  detestable  and  degrading  vices. 

Let  us  begin  our  notes  on  this  point  by  taking  one 
or  two  familiar  and  simple  cases  of  desirable  evils. 
The  great  value  and  moral  justification  of  JVar  is 
that  it  starts  the  process  of  civilization  :  the  less 
savage  tribes  unite  more  easily,  and  destroy  the 
wilder  and  inferior  races — inferior,  that  is,  as  material 
to  be  worked  up  by  evolution.  "  Civilization  begins, 
because  the  beginning  of  civilization  is  a  military 
advantage."  Then,  too,  war  calls  for  and  creates 
certain  primitive  qualities,  excellent  as  moral  com- 
mencements ;  such,  for  example,  are  courage,  obedi- 
ence, loyalty,  the  habit  of  discipline.  These  are 
necessary  for  human  development,  until  man  has 
had  time  to  shake  off  enough  of  his  brutal  ancestry 
to  be  ready  for  the  later  and  more  complex  virtues. 
"  The  savage  virtues  which  tend  to  war  are  the  daily 
bread  of  human  nature,"  as  the  author  of  "  Physics 
and  Politics  "  epigrammatically  remarks ;  and  else- 
where he  adds  that  the  continued  wars  of  early  times 
"  are  by  their  incessant  fracture  of  old  images,  and 
by  their  constant  infusion  of  new  elements,  the  real 
regenerators  of  society."  So  too,  Mr.  Tylor  points 
out  ("  Anthropology,"  p.  430)  that  under  the  patri- 
archal system  "  people  of  few  wants  may  prosper  in 
time  of  peace,  in  the  kindly  communion  which  is 


25©  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

possible  where  there  are  no  rich  and  no  poor.  The 
weak  point  of  such  a  society  is  that  it  can  hardly  ad- 
vance, for  civilization  is  at  a  standstill  where  it  is 
regulated  by  ancestral  custom  administered  by  great- 
grandfathers. Everywhere  in  the  world,  in  war 
some  stronger  and  more  intelligent  rule  than  this  is 
needed  and  found.  The  changes  which  have  shaped 
the  descendants  of  wild  hordes  into  civilized  nations 
have  been  in  great  measure  the  work  of  the  war- 
chief." 

But  probably  not  many  persons  now  deny  the 
desirability  and  utility  of  war:  the  mistake  is  made 
in  not  completing  the  general  conclusion  from  such 
an  example,  and  acknowledging  it  as  a  clear  instance 
of  the  necessity  for  temporal  and  occasional  evil. 
Another  specimen  of  nature's  plan  of  doing  evil 
that  greater  good  may  follow  is  shown  in  Slavery  :  ' 
no  refinement  or  increase  of  knowledge  is  possible 
without  leisure,  and  in  early  societies  slavery  alone 
can  give  man  that  valuable  boon,  by  creating  "  a  set 
of  persons  born  to  work  that  others  may  not  work, 
and  not  to  think  in  order  that  others  may  think." 
Who  will  say  that  this  was  not  a  most  useful  piece 
of  injustice?  In  fact,  if  we  take  as  our  standard  of 
goodness  that  which  will  be  so  to  the  ideal  or  ulti- 
mate man,  we  must  admit  that  the  natural  morality 
for  any  locality  at  any  time  has  always  been,  and 
still  is,  a  judicious  mixture  of  good  and  evil.     Thus, 


NATURAL   MORALITY.  25  I 

to  refer  to  our  example,  the  warlike  state  naturally 
engenders  callousness  to  suffering,  creates  hatred, 
deception,  cruelty,  by  the  exercise  of  these  qualities 
towards  enemies,  besides  fostering  a  sense  of  pleasure 
and  exultation  when  victory  is  won  :  and  yet,  with- 
out war,  the  co-operative  virtues  on  which  civilization 
is  based  could  never  have  acquired  any  prominence 
or  strength.  What  the  higher  religions  have  simply 
regarded  as  so  many  "  sins,"  science  sees  to  be 
necessities  of  the  plan  of  creation.  Those  religions 
have  always  been  theoretical  protests  against  this 
painful  order  of  things :  they  have  endeavored  to 
produce  an  artificial  morality  that  would  defeat  the 
method  of  nature — and  so  to  reach  by  a  supreme 
effort  that  highest  life,  which  is  the  still  distant  goal 
of  civilization,  and  which  will  only  be  gained  when 
man's  whole  organization  has  become  completely 
evolved. 

Another  important  consideration  is  this :  that  not 
merely  do  many  qualities  —  once  desirable  —  pass 
away,  or  eventually  become  evil,  with  a  change  of 
environment,  but  others  are  so  opposed  to  one  an- 
other that  they  cannot  flourish  simultaneously  in  the 
same  organization,  individual  or  social :  and  further, 
some  most  excellent  virtues  are  apparently  insepar- 
able from  accompanying  defects.  The  balance  of 
human  character,  involving  physiological  and  psycho- 
logical difficulties  that  arc  only  now  beginning  to  be 


252  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

appreciated,  is  a  far  more  delicate  and  complicated 
matter  than  the  great  religious  reformers  had  any 
reason  for  supposing  it  to  be.  It  would  seem  that 
as,  in  process  of  time,  men  become  acquainted  with 
other  ethical  systems  than  that  developed  in  their 
own  tribe  or  nation,  a  great  collection  of  beautiful 
moral  thought  is  the  result,  and  its  applicability  to 
all  times  and  every  country  and  nationality  is  taken 
for  granted.  Utopian  schemes  are  consequently 
propounded  for  the  guidance  of  the  daily  lives  of 
semi-savages,  without  a  doubt  as  to  their  practica- 
bility. But  the  better  we  learn  to  comprehend  what 
man's  nature  and  powers  really  are,  the  less  we  shall 
be  tempted  to  put  any  reliance  on  such  methods  of 
reform, — the  more  patient  shall  we  become  in  our 
expectations  of  further  progress. 

As  good  an  instance  as  can  be  given  of  the  decay 
of  a  preliminary  virtue, — one  of  the  higher  savage 
moral  ideas, — is  the  gradual  loss  of  courage,  or 
rather  promptitude,  in  dangerous  and  disagreeable 
situations.  Action  on  such  occasions  is  now  handed 
over  to  paid  deputies :  soldiers,  firemen,  and  police- 
men, for  example,  come  between  us  and  the  ordinary 
opportunities  for  exercising  the  old  pluck,  and  civil- 
ization and  constant  peace  are  pretty  sure  to  ulti- 
mately effect  its  permanent  destruction.  A  typical 
illustration  of  this  change  occurred  not  very  long 
ago,  when  some  fifty  people  in  Kensington  Gardens 


NATURAL   MORALITY.  253 

watched  a  little  child  drown  in  two  feet  of  water: 
no  doubt,  after  sufficient  time  had  elapsed,  the 
majority  regretted  their  inactivity,  for  it  would  be 
absurd  to  suppose  that  their  conduct  showed  cruelty, 
or  indeed  anything  more  than  the  civilized  loss  of 
an  old  quality.  Impulsive  action  was  a  most  excel- 
lent primitive  virtue  ;  life's  problems  were  then  very 
simple,  and  physical  energy  was  absolutely  essential 
for  success.  But  as  men  grow  more  deliberative  in 
discussion,  they  become  less  energetic  in  action  : 
our  lost  promptitude  was  a  correlative  of  savage 
eagerness  and  violence,  and  our  regret  at  the  conse- 
quent change  in  the  manly  character  may  be  justly 
moderated  by  the  reflection  that  much  evil  has  dis- 
appeared at  the  same  time.  The  constant  physical 
activity  of  primitive  life  involved  another  drawback 
in  general  torpor  of  thought ;  while  with  us,  on  the 
other  hand,  increased  intellectual  power  goes  with 
the  diminished  bodily  vigor :  so  we  must  not  com- 
plain if  the  limited  forces  of  the  human  organi- 
zation cannot  turn  us  all  into  so  many  admirable 
Crichtons. 

The  modern  view  of  this  question  is  very  ade- 
quately expressed  in  a  leader  of  the  Daily  Nczus 
(Sept.  14,  1 881)  on  the  subject  of  a  fatal  quarrel  that 
occurred  at  a  fashionable  watering-place.  What 
happened  was  this  :  X,  before  a  number  of  men  in 
a   public    smoking-room,  spoke    contemptuously   of 


254  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

the  ladies  who  had  been  present  at  an  hotel  ball.  Y 
(doubtlessly  imbued  with  an  antiquated  chivalry) 
expressed  his  disagreement  with,  and  anger  at,  what 
X  had  said.  The  quarrel  grew.  X  swore  at  Y,  and 
struck  him.  Whereupon  the  ladies'  champion  knocked 
his  opponent  down,  and  he  (being  in  a  bad  state  of 
health)  died  very  shortly  afterwards.  The  coroner's 
verdict  was  manslaughter,  and  the  newspaper's  as 
follows :  "  The  only  moral  to  be  drawn  from  this 
whole  miserable  story  is  an  obvious  one.  Men 
ought  to  be  polite  and  courteous :  they  ought  not 
to  make  disparaging  remarks  about  ladies  in  public 
rooms;  but  if  they  will  be  guilty  of  discourteous 
and  offensive  comment,  other  men,  not  personally 
responsible  for  the  maintenance  of  decorum  and 
order,  had  much  better  let  them  alone.  .  .  .  We 
shall  never  have  any  sound  code  of  good  manners 
until  the  man  who  chooses  to  be  ill-mannered  is 
understood  to  have  harmed  himself  only  by  his  bad 
behavior,  and  is  regarded  as  a  person  whom  his 
irresponsible  neighbors  are  to  shun  and  not  to 
punish." 

Probably  only  a  few  old-fashioned  conservatives 
could  be  found  to  deny  that  this  is  very  sound  and 
excellent  advice.  But  most  certainly  such  self- 
restraint,  and  this  habit  of  quietly  reflecting — "  It 
is  no  business  of  mine" — is  precisely  what  is  best 
calculated  to  destroy  the    old    warlike    promptness. 


NATURAL   MORALITY.  255 

No  man  can  serve  two  masters — we  cannot  have  the 
old  virtue  and  the  new.  As  Mr.  Tylor  philosophi- 
cally remarks  (**  Primitive  Culture,"  vol.  i.  p.  26) : 
"  The  onward  movement  from  barbarism  has  dropped 
behind  more  than  one  quality  of  barbaric  character, 
which  cultured  modern  men  look  back  on  with  regret, 
and  will  even  strive  to  regain  by  futile  attempts  to 
stop  the  course  of  history,  and  restore  the  past  in 
the  midst  of  the  present." 

The  other  point,  namely,  that  of  the  taint  of 
viciousness  temporarily  inherent  in  certain  desirable 
qualities — generally  intellectual  virtues — it  is  not 
perhaps  advisable  to  discuss  at  any  length,  but  the 
following  thoughtful  piece  of  criticism  will  illustrate 
our  meaning  with  sufficient  plainness:  "There  is  one 
strange,  but  quite  essential  character  in  us,  ever  since 
the  Conquest,  if  not  earlier — a  delight  in  the  forms 
of  burlesque  which  are  connected  in  some  degree 
with  the  foulness  in  evil.  I  think  the  most  perfect 
type  of  a  true  English  mind  in  its  best  possible 
temper  is  that  of  Chaucer;  and  you  will  find  that, 
while  it  is  for  the  most  part  full  of  thoughts  of 
beauty,  pure  and  wild  like  that  of  an  April  morning, 
there  are  even  in  the  midst  of  this,  sometimes 
momentarily  jesting  passages  which  stoop  to  play 
with  evil ;  while  the  power  of  listening  to  and  enjoy- 
ing the  jesting  of  entirely  gross  persons,  whatever 
the    feeling   may   be    which    permits  it,    afterwards 


256  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

degenerates  into  forms  of  humor  which  render  some 
of  quite  the  greatest,  wisest,  and  most  moral  of 
EngHsh  writers  now  almost  useless  for  our  youth. 
A  lid  yet  you  ivill  find  that  whenever  Englishmen  are 
wholly  witJiout  this  instinct,  their  genius  is  compara- 
tively weak  and  restricted "  (Raskin,  *'  Oxford  Lec- 
tures on  Art,"  p.  15). 

It  would  certainly  seem  as  though,  owing  to  cor- 
relations of  organization  with  which  we  are  as  yet 
unacquainted,  sundry  ancestral  traits  could  not  be 
got  rid  of  for  some  time  without  an  accompanying 
loss  of  what  we  ought  not  to  part  with.  And  again, 
when  considering  "  class"  moralities,  we  are  often 
met  with  a  suggestion  of  a  similar  idea :  would  not 
the  work  of  artists  and  certain  literary  men,  for 
example,  suffer  if  they  were  themselves  as  rigidly 
pure  as  so  many  St.  Anthonies ;  and  are  they  not 
perhaps  truly  moral  in  continuing  in  that  state  most 
favorable  for  their  natural  mission?  Or  to  take  the 
case  of  the  very  religious — those  who  make  their 
religion  a  matter  of  every-day  life,  not  a  mere  Sunday 
ornament :  do  we  not  invariably  find  them  rather 
deficient  in  intellectual  virtues — a  little  bigoted  and 
narrow  in  their  sympathies  at  times,  thanks  to  their 
"  Hebraizing,"  as  Mr.  Arnold  has  christened  the 
process  of  sacrificing  all  other  sides  of  one's  nature  to 
the  religious  side  ?  Morality  can  hardly  be  an 
exception  to  the  general  law  that  governs  all  mental 


NATURAL   MORALITY.  257 

and  physical  qualities — the  quantity  of  power  avail- 
able being  strictly  limited,  extra-efficiency  in  one 
point  can  only  be  gained  at  the  cost  of  weakness 
somewhere  else. 

In  further  explanation  of  this  necessity  for 
compromise,  and  of  the  purely  relative  and  transient 
nature  of  the  distinctions  between  morality  and 
immorality,  as  popularly  conceived,  we  must  refer  to 
the  discussion  of  the  question  elsewhere — see,  for 
instance,  Spencer,  "  Psychology,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  570-577; 
and  Darwin,  "  Descent  of  Man,"  p.  618  e^  seq. 


But  perhaps  the  plainest  example  of  the  temporary 
necessity  for  what  is  religiously  known-  as  sin,  is 
shown  in  the  scientific  explanation  of  nature's  inten- 
tions with  regard  to  the  delicate  question  of  sexual 
relations.  We  have  already  noticed  in  the  former 
chapters  that  the  views  of  the  higher  religions  on 
this  point  were  markedly  ascetic, — teaching  as  they 
did  that  the  natural  desires  are  hostile  to  man's 
nobler  life,  and  accordingly  to  be  destroyed  by 
recourse  to  the  severest  measures,  if  necessary. 
Christ  was  not  a  physiologist,  or  he  could  not  have 
admitted  such  a  profound  error  as  an  essential  part 
of  his  doctrine  ;  we  should,  moreover,  remember  that 
he  looked  for  a  speedy  termination  of  the  ^Eon,  and 


258  NATURAL  MORALITY. 

therefore  naturally  regarded  the  whole  question  of 
the  propagation  of  the  human  race  with  somewhat 
prejudiced  eyes.  So,  too,  Buddha's  views  are 
accounted  for  by  his  theory  that  all  the  desires  of 
life  and  its  pleasures  are  but  so  many  causes  of  sorrow 
and  suffering,  and  that  their  complete  elimination 
from  man's  nature  constitutes  his  only  possible  salva- 
tion. But,  notwithstanding  the  fascination  they  may 
theoretically  have  for  us,  we  must  condemn  such 
standards  of  purity  as  impracticable  and  contrary  to 
nature  ;  whose  purposes  would  be  entirely  defeated 
if  a  feminine  chastity  could  be  thus  successfully 
imposed  on  men. 

If  the  reader  will  turn  to  Mr.  Darwin's  '  Descent 
of  Man,"  chapters  viii.,  xx.,  xxi.,  he  will  find  there 
ample  reasons  for  concluding  that  the  physical  basis 
for  many  of  nature's  most  admirable  and  varied 
modes  of  education  is  this  very  condition  so  hateful 
to  the  ascetic  spirit.  He  will  see  how,  through  sexual 
selection,  this  has  led  to  the  development  of  beauty 
and  many  ornamental  accomplishments  ;  and  that  we 
are  justified  in  describing  this  instinct  as  the  probable 
foundation  of  art  and  refinement :  whilst  the  contrast 
between  man's  and  woman's  natural  feelings  with 
regard  to  all  sexual  questions  ultimately  gave  rise  to 
chivalry,  politeness,  and  even  delicacy, — and  hence 
is  no  unimportant  factor  in  the  polished  charms  of 
civilized  life.    Let  us  recall  the  beautiful  words  which 


NATURAL   MORALITY.  259 

the  Poet  Laureate  puts  into  the  mouth  of  his  ideal 
King,  teUing  us  how  he  made  his  knights  swear — 

"  To  love  one  maiden  only,  cleave  to  her 
And  worship  her  by  years  of  noble  deeds. 
Until  they  won  her  ;  for  indeed  I  knew 
Of  no  more  subtle  master  under  heaven 
Than  is  the  maiden  passion  for  a  maid. 
Not  only  to  keep  down  the  base  in  man, 
But  teach  high  thoughts,  and  amiable  words, 
And  courtliness,  and  the  desire  of  fame, 
And  love  of  truth,  and  all  that  makes  a  man." 

{Idylls  of  the  King  :  "  Guinevere.") 

But  has  not  this  process  of  "  courting"  a  purely 
physical  origin ;  is  it  not  rendered  possible  only  by 
the  simple  fact  that  "  in  all  animals  the  males  have 
stronger  passions  than  the  females,"  and  hence  the 
former  woo,  the  others  require  to  be  wooed  ;  and 
have  we  not  in  this  beautiful  plotting  of  nature  for 
human  happiness  those  very  possibilities  so  dreaded 
by  religious  reformers  ?  As  M.  Renan  suggests 
("  Dialogues  Philosophiques,"  Certitudes,  p.  26), 
nature  seems  to  have  entrusted*  the  sentiment  of 
purity  to  the  care  of  woman,  the  animal  passion  to 
that  of  man  :  the  proper  compromise  beeween  these 
two  bringing  about  the  desired  end,  the  rich  and 
wonderful  complexity  of  feelings  we  call  love.  There 
is  a  profound  natural  justice  then  in  the  anger  and 
contempt  with  which  we  regard  the  woman  who 
betrays  her  sacred  trust,  and  sins  against  what  is 


26o  NATURAL   MOLALITY. 

rightly  included  under  the  term  "  womanliness" — 
purity,  modesty,  gentleness  ;  and  hardly  less  reason- 
able is  the  more  moderate  ridicule  and  pity  shown 
for  the  man  whose  "  manliness"  is  too  strongly 
modified  by  those  very  qualities. 

We  regret  having  to  touch  upon  a  question  per- 
haps wisely  relegated  by  English  feeling  to  the  class 
of  subjects  not  fit  for  popular  discussion  ;  but  on  no 
other  point  does  religious  theorizing  so  strikingly 
conflict  with  modern  doctrine :  nowhere  do  the 
teachers  of  antiquity,  in  spite  of  all  their  enthusiasm 
and  confidence,  so  fail  to  give  even  an  approximate 
account  of  the  Divine  purpose  and  method.  Much 
that  was,  and  still  is,  indispensable  to  these,  they 
have,  following  the  custom  and  doctrine  of  their 
times,  called  sinful ;  and  in  their  hasty  distrust  of 
the  "  natural  man,"  they  would  have  lopped  and 
trimmed  humanity  into  premature  tameness  and  in- 
firmity,— careless  of  the  rich  variety  of  life  and 
character  that  is  the  result  of  nature's  far-seeing 
compromises. 

Closely  allied  with  the  above  question,  and  equally 
opposed  to  pre-scientific  teaching,  is  the  modern 
doctrine  of  the  essential  healthiness  of  pleasure. 
"  Sentient  existence  can  evolve  only  on  condition 
that  pleasure-giving  acts  are  life-sustaining  acts ; " 
or  in  other  words,  "  The  evolution  of  life  has  been 
made  possible  only  by   the   establishment   of   con- 


NATURAL    MORALITY.  261 

nections  between  pleasures  and  beneficial  actions, 
and  between  pains  and  detrimental  actions  "  ("  Data 
of  Ethics,"  pp.  83  and  150).  No  argument  is  neces- 
sary to  demonstrate  such  an  obvious  truth  in  the 
case  of  animals  and  the  .lower  races  of  men  ;  but  as 
the  human  organization  becomes  more  evolved  and 
complex,  this  simple  law  requires  some  modification, 
since  the  higher  sentiments  yield  pleasures  that  may 
often  entail  bodily  suffering,  as  well  as  pains  that 
may  follow  the  gratification  of  the  lower  desires ; 
and,  moreover  (perhaps  owing  to  its  being  enjoyed 
with  more  developed  faculties),  deferred  pleasure 
may  prove  far  superior  to  immediate  gratification. 
For  it  is  certain  that,  from  the  mere  fact  of  self- 
restraint  having  been  practiced,  and  in  addition  to 
the  enjoyment  of  longer  anticipation,  an  increased 
feeling  of  satisfaction  is  generally  experienced  :  not 
only  on  the  occasional  principle  of  "  getting  dis- 
agreeable things  over,"  but  also  from  a  belief  (prob- 
ably acquired  in  childhood  through  the  frequent  in- 
culcation of  prudence)  that  the  same  pleasure  is 
more  enjoyed  if  postponed  for  a  time. 

To  refrain  from  self-indulgence  is  of  course,  within 
proper  limitations,  an  important  factor  in  education. 
It  is  not  so  unquestionable,  however,  that  the  self- 
control  which  springs  directly  from  the  fear  of 
Divine  displeasure  or  that  of  our  fellow-creatures  is 
of  a  very  high  order  of  morality :  at  all  events,  so  far 


262  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

as  such  restraint  is  only  the  result  of  calculations  as 
to  any  purely  extrinsic  consequences  of  our  action. 
But  that  the  general  bent  of  nature's  method  is  anti- 
ascetic  we  may  best  learn  by  the  consideration  of 
certain  average  cases  :  for  instance,  however  much 
we  may  despise  and  condemn  the  gourmand  who 
makes  a  deity  of  his  palate  and  appetite,  we  fall  into 
the  error  of  asceticism  if  we  let  our  contempt  carry 
us  past  the  physiological  fact  that  "  the  pleasure 
which  accompanies  the  taking  of  food  goes  along 
with  physical  benefit ;  and  the  benefit  is  the  greater, 
the  keener  the  satisfaction  of  appetite."  And  how- 
ever much  we  may  deplore  that  root  of  many  evils, 
the  love  of  money,  we  should  remember  that  we  owe 
most  of  our  present  material  civilization  to  it ;  and 
that  certainly  the  religious  indifference  to  earthly 
possessions,  if  generally  felt,  would  have  tended 
more  perhaps  than  any  other  conceivable  cause  to 
have  kept  the  world  in  a  condition  of  stationary 
simplicity  and  ignorance.  Or,  to  take  another 
example,  can  we  deny  a  balance  on  tTie  right  side, 
as  the  outcome  of  the  animal  passions  and  senti- 
ments, when  we  reflect  that  it  is  to  them  that  we 
owe  love  and  marriage,  the  manifold  duties  and 
pleasures  of  parentage,  and  the  founding  of  happy 
homes — in  one  word,  the  most  steadying  and  civiliz- 
ing influences  that  can  be  brought  to  bear  on  the 
conduct  of  life  ?     We  may  mourn  over  the  abuse  of 


NATURAL   MORALITY.  263 

these  instincts,  and  yet  what  would  the  world  be, — 
indeed  could  the  world  exist  at  all, — without  them? 

Never  was  a  more^ monstrous  blunder  made  than 
in  the  tacit  assumption  of  asceticism  that  we  are 
"  so  diabolically  organized  that  pleasures  are  injuri- 
ous and  pains  beneficial " :  whereas  the  very  con- 
verse is  nature's  law  ;  and  for  "  pleasures  "  we  should 
substitute  "  excess,"  adding  that  pain  is  beneficial 
only  so  far  as  it  tends  to  deter  men  from  such  ex- 
cess. But  though  the  slowly,  silently  growing  com- 
mon sense,  that  is  destined  one  day  to  revolutionize 
all  our  religious  ideas,  generally  accepts  the  newer 
doctrine,  still  the  old  continues  to  bear  fruit  in  many 
a  broken-down  constitution,  the  result  of  a  careless 
disregard  of  the  necessary  conditions  of  health.  Men 
and  women  who  suicidally  overwork  themselves  in 
"  a  good  cause,"  who  sacrifice  themselves  to  ill- 
advised  efforts  after  impossible  reforms,  are  yet 
glorified  as  heroes.  Not  (let  us  repeat)  that  inclina- 
tion should  not  often  yield  to  a  sense  of  duty:  but 
the  duty  must  be  real,  not  imaginary ;  and  the 
natural  compromise  has  to  be  made  at  a  very  dif- 
ferent point  from  that  selected  by  religion,  a  point 
of  far  less  asceticism. 

"  Difficulty,  abnegation,  martyrdom,  death,"  have 
been  too  much  the  self-indulgence  of  noble  minds, 
and  have  often  tempted  them,  without  compensating 
advantage  to  any  human  being,  out  of  the  safe  mean 


264  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

that  nature  always  favors.  But  science  teaches 
moderation  and  foresight,  and  that  all  individual 
impulses  to  excess  must  give  way  to  the  interests  of 
the  race :  such  is  her  more  provident,  if  less  attrac- 
tive, morality.  Moreover,  whether  we  consider  the 
methods  of  personal  purity  taught  by  Christianity, 
by  means  of  actual  bodily  mutilation,  if  required  ;  or 
the  indiscriminate  almsgiving  approved  of;  or  the 
non-resistance  of  evil  enjoined  ;  or  indeed  any  of  the 
ascetic  characteristics  of  this  religion,  w^e  are  always 
met  by  the  reflection  that  the  great  object  in  view 
of  all  such  action  was  the  perfection  of  the  agent  him- 
self. We  need  but  recall  some  of  the  passages  given 
under  the  heading  of  "  Other-worldliness  "  in  the  last 
chapter  to  prove  this :  are  not  sufferers  invited  to 
rejoice  when  ill-treated  and  abused, — mindful,  ap- 
parently, only  of  their  own  greater  purity,  not  of  the 
consequent  degradation  and  doom  of  their  persecut- 
ors? Indeed  it  is'not  too  much  to  say  that  the  result 
to  the  sinner  was  lost  sight  of,  or  absorbed,  in  the 
joyful  satisfaction  of  being  sinned  against.  Recon- 
sider these  two  passages,  the  one  from  the  Talmud, 
the  other  from  the  Gospels : — 

"  One  day.  Rabbi  Lazar,  going  into  his  house, 
said.  What  news  ?  They  answered.  Some  came 
hither,  and  ate  and  drank,  and  made  prayers  for 
thee.  Then,  saith  he,  there  is  no  good  reward. 
Another  time  going  into  his  house,  he  said.  What 


NATURAL   MORALITY.  "  265 

news  ?  It  was  answered,  Some  others  came,  and  ate 
and  drank,  and  railed  upon  you.  Now,  saith  he, 
there  will  be  a  good  reward." 

"  Blessed  are  ye  when  men  shall  hate  you,  and 
when  they  shall  separate  you  from  their  company, 
and  reproach  you,  and  cast  out  your  name  as  evil 
for  the  Son  of  man's  sake.  Rejoice  in  that  day,  and 
leap  for  joy  ;  for,  behold,  your  reward  is  great  in 
heaven." 

Still,  however  egoistic  this  may  be,  we  must  not 
be  so  unjust  as  to  regard  it  as  therefore  essentially 
selfish,  in  the  worst  sense  of  the  word.  The  mischief 
that  this  self-abnegation  would  inflict  on  others,  the 
fact  that  the  supposed  advantages  were  won  at  the 
cost  of  others'  future  suffering,  was  one  of  which  all 
men  in  those  days  were  unfortunately  ignorant  ;  that 
the  children  of  the  ascetically  inclined  will  be 
unhealthy  and  feeble,  that  indiscriminate  charity 
creates  idleness  and  pauperism,  that  evil-doing  is 
only  encouraged  by  success,  are  modern  discoveries. 


And  what  do  we  now  know  is  the  great  law  under 
which  development  and  progress  have  gone  on  in 
the  world?  Surely  "the  Survival  of  the  Fittest," 
implying  as  it  does  the  extinction  of  the  less  fit,  has 
little  in  common  with  the  unlimited  benevolence  in- 


266  '  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

sisted  on  by  Christianity  ?  "  The  law  that  each 
creature  shall  take  the  benefits  and  evils  of  its  own 
nature,  be  they  those  derived  from  ancestry,  or  those 
due  to  self-produced  modifications,  has  been  the  law 
under  which  life  has  evolved  thus  far  ;  and  it  must 
continue  to  be  the  law,  however  much  further  life 
may  evolve.  Whatever  qualifications  this  natural 
course  of  action  may  now  or  hereafter  undergo,  are 
qualifications  that  cannot,  without  fatal  results,  es- 
sentially change  it.  Any  arrangements  which  in  a 
considerable  degree  prevent  superiority  from  profit- 
ing by  the  rewards  of  superiority,  or  shield  inferiority 
from  the  evils  it  entails,  any  arangements  which  tend 
to  make  it  as  well  to  be  inferior  as  to  be  superior,  are 
arrangements  diametrically  opposed  to  the  progress 
of  organization  and  the  reaching  of  a  higher  life  " 
("  Data  of  Ethics,"  p.  i88  ;  cf.  p.  198). 

Thus,  then,  the  unpractical  character  of  the  Chris- 
tian rules  of  life,  taken  in  their  original  and  genuine 
sense,  is  plainly  shown :  if  really  accepted  by  men, 
they  would  have  put  an  end  to  this  process  of  natural 
selection,  by  substituting  for  its  necessarily  severe 
competition  an  excessive  yielding  to  others  on  the 
part  of  the  best  members  of  the  community.  Even 
as  a  temporary  policy  such  a  self-abnegation  theory 
is  undesirable,  owing  to  its  inevitable  failure  as  a 
method  of  reform  ;  as  Mr.  Spencer  points  out  {Idem. 
p.  196),  an  accepted  sacrifice  tends  as  much  to  culti- 


NATURAL    MORALITY.  267 

vate  egoism  on  the  part  of  the  receiver  as  it  does 
generosity  on  the  part  of  the  giver  ;  and  a  constant 
self-surrender  leads  to  the  encouragement  of  an  in- 
tolerable greediness,  instances  of  which  must  be  only 
too  familiar  to  all. .  Moreover,  for  an  advanced  race 
of  human  beings  such  rules  are  simply  impossible, 
implying  as  they  do  either  the  continuance  of  evil, 
or  that  for  all  men  to  be  altruistic,  all  will  have  to  be 
egoistic  at  the  same  time — willing  alike  to  sacrifice 
themselves  to  others,  and  others  to  themselves.  [This 
criticism,  of  course,  must  not  be  understood  as  refer- 
ring to  the  later  modifications  of  Christian  doctrine, 
— which,  after  all,  are  little  more  than  a  clumsy  com- 
promise, a  sort  of  half-way  stage  between  religious 
and  scientific  morality, — but  to  the  original  theories 
of  Christ  and  his  fellow-countrymen  ;  with  whom  the 
doctrine  of  extreme  humility  and  self-abnegation  un- 
questionably held  a  most  prominent  place.] 

It  may  occur  to  some  readers  that  these  remarks 
are  by  no  means  sufficiently  appreciative  of  the 
quality  to  which  Comte  gave  the  well-chosen  title  of 
"  Altruism"  :  if  so,  they  will  do  well  to  consider  the 
point  whether  this  vfrtue,  invariably  and  necessarily, 
implies  anything  more  than  the  gratification  of  a 
more  advanced  condition  of  feeling  than  directly 
egoistic  pleasures  can  satisfy.  Take,  for  example,  the 
typical  saying  "  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  re- 
ceive :"  that  this  may  originally  have  had  reference  to 


268  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

the  principle  of  deferred  gratification,  or  other-world- 
liness,  we  should  probably  be  justified  in  assuming; 
but  we  may  also  regard  it  as  a  statement  of  the  simple 
fact  that,  for  men  of  finer  and  more  complex  natures, 
the  pleasure  of  giving  is  more  intense  than  that  of  an 
equivalent  receiving.  Think  of  the  proud  and  happy 
satisfaction  that  accompanies  the  self-sacrifice  of  deep 
affection,  the  misery  and  bitter  repentance  that  so 
often  follow  thoughtless  self-assertion  ;  or  consider  the 
most  perfect  devotion  of  all — that  of  a  mother  for  her 
child — and  then  say  if  altruism  may  not  often  be  noth- 
ing more  than  the  self-indulgence  of  a  loving  nature. 
The  true  morality  is  found,  as  usual,  in  a  com- 
promise ;  altruism  is  excellent  in  moderation — but 
so  also  is  egoism ;  and  deficiency  or  excess  in  either, 
being  a  source  of  weakness  and  therefore  ultimately 
self-destructive,  tends  to  disappear.  (See  "  Data  of 
Ethics,"  pp.  196  and  204.) 


All  the  religious  systems  we  have  touched  on  in 
these  Notes  date  back  to  times  when  men  were 
ignorant  and  credulous;  they  therefore  call  for  much 
belief  and  little  knowledge  ;  afid  as  time  passes  and 
more  knowledge  is  acquired,  the  old  creeds,  as  we  have 
seen,  are  occasionally  disproved  or  found  wanting. 
They  were  but  the  substitutes  that  human  curiosity 
demanded  when  it  could  not  get  facts ;  and  were 
therefore./^r.?^,  almost  certain  to  be  essentially  wrong. 


NATURAL   MORALITY.  269 

To  sum  up  the  case  of  the  particular  religion  with 
which  we  are  chiefly  concerned,  we  find  its  pre- 
scientific  character  everywhere  apparent.  A  system 
is  surely  irrational  that  encourages  men  to  attempt  a 
morality  far  beyond  their  powers,  beyond  what  the 
race  has  even  yet  been  bred  up  to  ;  for  the  moral 
faculties  are  more  liable  to  a  disastrous  breakdown 
than  even  the  intellectual,  and  with  worse  conse- 
quences;  moral  straining  not  only  hindering,,  but 
absolutely  reversing,  the  process  of  moral  training. 
The  acute  nervous  anxiety  and  excitement  that  al- 
ways occur  when  religious  feeling  exhibits  marked 
activity  are  also  most  undesirable  in  their  effects. 
"  We  are  bound,"  said  the  leading  medical  journal  a 
short  time  ago,  "  to  point  out  that  great  and  grave 
mischief  may  be  done  by  undue  excitement.  What- 
ever suspends  the  control  of  the  judgment  is  abnor- 
mal, as  an  exercise  of  cerebral  function.  When, 
therefore,  the  emotions  supplant  or  obstruct  the  in- 
fluence of  the  reasoning  faculty — when  a  mind  is,  so 
to  say,  lifted  or  carried  '  out  of  itself  by  the  opera- 
tion of  any  '  feeling,'  it  is  in  peril.  A  particular 
powerful  state  of  ecstasy  or  rhapsody,  or  a  frequent 
repetition  of  excitement  of  the  class  which  enthrals 
the  mental  senses,  may  quickly,  and  must  in  the  long 
run,  enfeeble  the  mind.  Beyond  question,  devotees 
and  enthusiasts  of  the  extreme  class,  those  who  see 
visions,  dream  dreams,  and  hear  voices,  are  in  an 


27Q  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

abnormal  and  distinctly  morbid  condition.  What  is 
called  '  communion  ' — in  the  spiritual  sense,  in  which 
the  mind  is  alienated  from  the  body — is  one  stage  on 
the  way  to  mental  derangement.  A  large  number  of 
good  people  undoubtedly  go  that  stage,  and  return 
with  impunity,  but  there  is  always  risk  in  the  mental 
exploit"  ("Lancet,"  Dec.  7,  1881).  The  writer  is 
referring  to  modern  Revivals,  but  what  he  says  is 
equally  applicable  to  much  that  we  read  of  in  the 
New  Testament  itself,  as  well  as  in  the  history  of  the 
early  Church. 

Let  us  also  ask,  what  would  the  man  be  like  who 
faithfully  practiced  the  ideal  virtues  Christ  taught  ? 
Would  he  not  have  a  tender  conscience  more  fit  for 
a  life  in  Utopia  than  the  world's  rough  work ;  would 
he  not  shrink  from  seizing  opportunities — advantages 
that  told,  ever  so  little  or  indirectly,  against  another; 
would  he  not  be  generous  to  a  fault,  careless  of 
wealth  and  position, unmindful  of  men's  good  opinion  : 
— and  is  this  the  only,  or  general,  type  of  man  that 
the  world's  progress  calls  for?  Do  we  not  see  that 
it  is  rather  the  pushing,  even  grasping,  men  of  busi- 
ness, who,  in  helping  themselves  to  their  substantial 
ends,  best  serve  nature's  purpose,  by  thus  advancing 
the  material  welfare  of  humanity ;  and  so  assist  in 
establishing  that  mechanical  prosperity  on  which 
alone  a  lasting  moral  and  intellectual  civilization 
can  be  based  ?     Is  not  the  whole  tendency,  then,  of 


NATURxVI.    MORALITY.  2/1 

human  evolution  to  produce  something  essentially 
different  from  the  Man  of  Sorrows — the  ideal  which 
Christianity  sets  before  us?  And,  however  much 
some  might  like,  or  fancy  they  would  like,  to  sub- 
stitute his  morality  for  that  of  nature,  the  thing  is 
impossible.  We  are  too  apt  to  insufificiently  con- 
sider the  fact  that  time  and  place  are,  next  to  the 
action  of  heredity,  the  most  important  influences  in 
determining  character;  and  that  consequently  in  the 
wholly  different  environment  where  health  and  hap- 
piness will  be  secured  by  an  almost  perfect  adapta- 
tion of  man  to  his  surroundings,  the  chief  charac- 
teristics of  our  religious  Ideal  could  have  no  visible 
existence,  and  would  soon  disappear  for  want  of 
opportunity.  Or,  perhaps,  the  point  will  be  put  more 
plainly  if  we  say  that  the  ultimately  ideal  man  will  in 
no  way  resemble  Christ,  since  his  virtues  will  be  those 
of  the  mind  rather  than  those  of  the  heart.  The 
character  of  Christ  presumes  an  environment  of  evil ; 
suffering,  and  injustice,  in  alleviating  which  his  pity 
can  find  work  to  do ;  bigotry  and  cruelty,  to  which 
he  can  oppose  his  self-abnegation ;  misery  and  pov- 
erty for  his  loving  charity  to  relieve, — and  so  on. 
Remove  these  conditions,  and  the  physical  organiza- 
tion which  accompanies  the  virtues  they  call  into 
action  will  perish  from  atrophy,  or — speaking  more 
accurately — will  be  modified  into  that  essential  to  the 
higher  intellectual  virtues. 


272  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

Moreover,  whether  as  effect  or  cause  of  his  char- 
acter, Christ  (as  we  have  seen)  unhesitatingly  accepted 
the  ascetic  doctrines  of  his  time  ;  contempt  for  this 
world  and  its  pleasures,  power,  and  wealth ;  purity- 
carried  to  a  suicidal  extreme,  and  similar  ideas. 
Fortunately,  human  nature  has  been  too  strong  for 
such  views,  or  we  should  have  been  far  less  advanced 
in  civilization,  intelligence,  and  morality,  than  we 
are.  Modern  progress  probably  owes  much  less  to 
religion  than  the  latter  is  disposed  to  claim  ;  for  in 
her  conservatism  and  tender  regret  for  the  past,  she 
has  almost  invariably  opposed  the  increase  of  politi- 
cal freedom,  the  teaching  of  science,  the  specula- 
tions of  liberal  philosophy — and  these  are  the  very 
groundwork  of  our  present  position. 


That  the  practical  policy  of  Religion  can  only  be 
temporarily  efficient  is  then  suggested  by  the  follow- 
ing considerations :  (i)  by  it  the  social,  as  well  as  the 
self-regarding,  virtues  are  based  on  enthusiasm,  or 
feeling,  which  is  merely  one  of  their  most  uncertain 
and  variable  factors ;  (2)  in  ignorance  of  man's  true 
origin,  the  authors  of  this  policy  have  assumed  the 
potential  existence,  in  the  organizations  of  all  men, 
of  qualities  which,  even  now,  only  a  few  have  par- 
tially acquired — thus  giving  rise  to  what  may  be  not 
unfairly  termed  premature  and  unsound  forms  of 
virtue ;  and  (3)  they  have  not  shown  any  adequate 


NATURAL   MORALITY.  273 

conception  of  the  useful  functions  of  evil  and  the 
correlation  of  human  qualities,  but  have  taught  that 
a  man  could  acquire  any  combination  of  virtues 
which  might  be  selected,  and  that  all  evil  was  deadly. 
We  now  see,  however,  that  certain  characteristics, 
in  themselves  vicious,  have  been  requisite  for  the 
attainment  of  a  higher  state  ;  and  that  certain  virtues 
(mainly  intellectual),  and  desirable  physical  qualities, 
even  yet  are  often  necessarily  accompanied  by  others 
which  religion  can  but  regard  as  sinful. 

Many  examples  might  be  brought  forward  to 
show  that  the  theoretical  virtues  of  religion  require 
diluting,  as  it  were,  with  a  little  evil  before  they 
have  any  immediate  practical  value.  What  is  the 
process  with  regard  to  Truth,  for  instance?  We  only 
tell  men  the  truth  when  we  are  not  afraid  to  trust 
them  with  it :  savages  cannot  be  truthful — faith  in 
man  as  a  general  rule  of  life  would  in  their  case  be 
suicidal.  Nor, -even  among  civilized  nations,  has  the 
occasional  necessity  for  falsehood  and  deceit  by  any 
means  disappeared  as  yet :  take,  for  example,  the 
often-quoted  cases  of  deceiving  sick  persons  or 
would-be  criminals :  their  use  of  the  truth  would  be 
a  harmful  one, — they  cannot  therefore  be  trusted 
with  it.  And  here,  in  passing,  we  should  not  fail  to 
note  that  careful  attention  to  the  result  of  our  ac- 
tions on  others — rather  than  to  a  supposed  bad  effect 
on  our  own  characters — which  is  distinctive  of  the 
18 


274  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

modern  method  of  regarding  such  questions.  Nor, 
again,  can  it  be  denied  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as 
a  decent,  amiable  deceit ; — much  of  what  is  popularly- 
termed  "washing  one's  dirty  linen  at  home"  would 
come  under  this  heading.  It  may  well  be  a  wife's 
duty  to  deceive  :  ought  her  children  to  know  that 
their  father  is  a  drunken  brute,  or  her  friends  that 
she  suffers  from  his  cruelty — if  she  can  hide  it  from 
them  ?  And  which  would  be  the  more  admirable, 
she  who  sacrificed  the  truth  on  such  occasions,  or  she 
who  did  not?  Thus,  then,  we  acquire  a  flexible,  in 
place  of  a  rigid  rule — (for  surely  it  is  pharisaical  to 
pretend  to  ignore  modifications  which  all  but  the 
very  superstitious  practice) — "  never  tell  a  lie  "  has  to 
give  way  to  *'  hardly  ever  tell  a  lie  "  ;  and  so  morality- 
becomes  intelligent,  not  childish — practicable,  not 
merely  a  graceful  theory. 

It  is  indeed  easy  to  see  that  the  earlier  religious 
estimate  of  sin  and  the  feeling  of  remorse  are  rapidly 
undergoing  a  substantial  change  :  in  fact,  the  modern- 
manly  school  of  morality  rather  shrinks  from  unquali- 
fied holiness,  perhaps  tacitly  recognizing  that  it  is 
not  essentially  human,  and  is  apt  to  be  somewhat 
uninteresting,  owing  to  its  so  frequently  being  ac- 
companied by  physical  or  intellectual  weakness.  Our 
favorite  heroes  nowadays  are,  as  a  rule,  sinners — of 
the  careless,  not  the  mean  type,  be  it  understood : 
Angli,  noil  angeli — we  like  to    take   our   sentiment 


NATURAL   MORALITY.  2/5 

rugged  and  unpolished,  if  \vc  may  so  express  it,  in 
dramatic  contrast  to  our  easy,  every-day  life  ;  hence 
we  now  find  such  a  character  as  the  reckless,  swear- 
ing, quarrelsome  hero  who  managed  the  engines  of 
the  "  Prairie  Belle  "  more  pathetic  in  his  self-sacrifice 
— more  to  our  taste,  at  all  events — than  any  number 
of  saintly  martyrs.  Deep  down  in  the  average  heart 
lies  the  conviction  that  such  sin  as  his  is  very 
human,  and  all  sanctity  a  little  angelic  and  beyond 
us — as  yet ;  and  that  the  former  probably  has  some 
intimate  connection  with  physical  energy  and  courage 
— those  ancestral  traits  we  still  love  so  well.  If, 
again,  we  take  historical  examples,  is  it  not  evident 
that  the  falsehoods  with  which  Peter  began  his  in- 
dependent career,  the  murder  which  preceded  Paul's 
conversion,  left  undoubted  results  for  good  in  both 
those  leaders  of  men  ?  arising  certainly  from  earnest 
repentance — but  then,  repentance  implies  sin.  The 
fact  is,  sins  that  are  simply  relics  of  the  old  savage 
or  animal  ancestry  breaking  out — sometimes  uncon- 
sciously, sometimes  under  strong  compulsion — in  a 
man,  and  not  the  outcome  of  an  essential  baseness 
in  his  own  life,  are  not  unfrequently  signs  of  an  in- 
herited organization  of  considerable  force  and  char- 
acter. [This  possible  superiority  of  the  repentant 
sinner  over  those  whose  very  weakness  perhaps  has 
saved  them  from  trial  and  failure,  did  not  escape  the 
notice  of  Christ   and   the   Rabbis — a  j  a  reference  to 


2/6  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

the  quotations  under  the  heading  of  Repentance  in 
the  last  chapter  (see  pp.  86,  87)  will  show].  It  follows 
that  we  are  not  so  very  unreasonable  in  our  leniency 
towards  these  outcomes  of  primitive  passions,  after 
all ;  for  they  would  seem  to  be  indispensable  factors 
in  some  of  the  most  beautiful  characters  in  history 
— the  Davids,  and  Pauls,  and  Magdalenes.  And  if 
at  first  sight  it  appears  to  the  reader  that  the  logical, 
and  immoral,  deduction  from  this  is  "  Go  and  do 
likewise,"  let  him  remember  that  we  are  here  speak- 
ing of  acts  which  are  the  spontaneous  expression  of 
a  strong  animal  nature, — but  that  deliberate,  un- 
natural sin  could  never  have  any  other  consequence 
than  degradation,  with  very  poor  chance  of  re- 
covery. 


Thus,  then,  the  conviction  seems  forced  upon  us, 
that  though  the  ethical  doctrines  of  all  the  higher 
religions  have  had  a  true  local  and  temporary  value, 
it  is  a  mistake  to  imagine  that  their  principles  are 
therefore  applicable,  without  radical  change,  to  all 
times  and  places :  for  this  would  be  equivalent  to 
regarding  what  is  merely  a  stage  of  our  moral  devel- 
opment as  identical  with  its  ultimate  form.  The 
imaginary  hopes  and  fears  of  these  religions  con- 
stituted a  most  useful  class  of  provisional  arguments 
and  restraints,  by  the  help  of  which  the  conditions 
needed  for  a  still  hicjher  evolution  mi"-ht  be  reached. 


NATURAL   MORALITY.  2// 

For  man  to  become  moral — that  is,  to  learn  to  invar- 
iably guide  his  conduct  by  reference  to  its  natural 
consequences — it  is  requisite  that  he  should  for  a 
time  believe  in  the  existence  of  more  extended,  non- 
natural  results  of  his  actions,  such  as  political  or 
ecclesiastical  terrorism  invents  and  employs  as 
motives. 

This  being  one  of  the  chief  conclusions  to  which 
these  notes  tend,  Mr.  Spencer's  clear  explanation  of 
the  point  may  be  very  usefully  quoted  :  "  The  truly 
moral  deterrent  from  murder  is  not  constituted  by  a 
representation  of  hanging  as  a  consequence,  or  by  a 
representation  of  tortures  in  hell  as  a  consequence, 
or  by  a  representation  of  the  horror  and  hatred  ex- 
cited in  fellow-men  ;  but  by  a  representation  of  the 
necessary  natural  results — the  infliction  of  death- 
agony  on  the  victim,  the  destruction  of  all  his  possi- 
bilities of  happiness,  the  entailed  sufferings  to  his 
belongings.  Neither  the  thought  of  imprisonment, 
nor  of  Divine  anger,  nor  of  social  disgrace,  is  that 
which  constitutes  the  moral  check  on  theft ;  but  the 
thought  of  injury  to  the  person  robbed,  joined  with 
a  vague  consciousness  of  the  general  evils  caused  by 
disregard  of  proprietary  rights.  Those  who  repro- 
bate the  adulterer  on  moral  grounds,  have  their 
minds  filled,  not  with  ideas  of  an  action  for  dam- 
ages, or  of  future  punishment  following  the  breach 
of   a   commandment,  or  of  loss  of  reputation ;  but 


2/8  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

they  are  occupied  with  ideas  of  unhappiness  entailed 
on  the  aggrieved  wife  or  husband,  the  damaged  Hves 
of  children,  and  the  diffused  mischiefs  which  go 
along  with  disregard  of  the  marriage  tie.  Con- 
versely, the  man  who  is  moved  by  a  moral  feeling  to 
help  another  in  difficulty,  does  not  picture  to  him- 
self any  reward  here  or  hereafter  ;  but  pictures  only 
the  better  condition  he  is  trying  to  bring  about. 
One  who  is  morally  prompted  to  fight  against  a 
social  evil,  has  neither  material  benefit  nor  popular 
applause  before  his  mind  ;  but  only  the  mischiefs  he 
seeks  to  remove  and  the  increased  well-being  which 
will  follow  their  removal  "  ("  Data  of  Ethics,"  p. 
120).  In  one  word,  restraints  that  are  permanently 
moral  refer  to  the  intrinsic  effects  of  actions,  not  to 
their  extrinsic  or  accidental  effects. 

A  striking  parallel  to  the  moral  education  by 
means  of  terrorism,  necessary  to  the  advance  of 
humanity  out  of  barbarism  into  civilization  is  sug- 
gested by  the  recent  discovery  that  the  brains  of 
habitual  criminals  of  the  violent  class  present  certain 
singular  points  of  resemblance  to  those  of  carnivorous 
animals.  This  is  not  only  interesting  as  explaining 
the  probable  cause  of  their  persistent  brutality,  but 
also  as  indicative  of  the  right  method  of  dealing 
with  such  persons — namely,  by  vigorous  corporal 
punishment.  All  who  have  had  anything  to  do  with 
the  training  of  animals  know  that   it  is   absolutely 


NATURAL   MORALITY.  2/9 

essential  at  times  to  be  "  cruel  only  to  be  kind  "  in  a 
way  that  would  horrify  theoretical  tender-hearted- 
ness. We  may,  then,  justly  recognize  and  be  grate- 
ful for  the  good  work  done  by  the  religious  imagi- 
nation in  supplying  such  powerful  and  well-adapted 
motives,  which  cannot  in  safety  be  entirely  aban- 
doned, until- there  has  been  generally  reached  that 
high  level  of  intelligence  to  which  we  may  reason- 
ably look  for  the  sound  and  final  basis  of  virtue. 
But  notwithstanding  this,  gratitude  for  the  past  or 
even. present  value  of  an  institution  should  not  blind 
us  to  the  fact  of  its  merely  temporary  utility  and 
probable  future  harmfulness  ;  for  harmful  it  would 
be,  if  this  policy  were  accepted  as  suited  to  all  stages 
of  the  moral  development  of  the  race>  Its  result 
in  the  past  has  been  an  uncertain  morality,  gained 
by  the  partial  sacrifice  of  many  valuable  character- 
istics essential  to  the  completeness  of  human  nature. 
But  the  wider  the  distance  between  man  and  his 
brutal  ancestry  grows,  and  the  better  the  laws  of 
organic  heredity  and  development  are  understood, 
the  more  will  the  need  for  such  rough  processes  of 
improvement  tend  to  disappear,  the  more  reverent 
and  artistic  will  our  modes  of  education  become. 


If   space   permitted,    it   would  be    interesting   to 
dwell  on  the  subject  of  the  probable  new  fields  of 


280  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

action  for  moral  principle  in  the  future.  For  ex- 
ample, when  heredity  is  better  and  more  widely  un- 
derstood, the  inadvisability — to  use  the  mildest  pos- 
sible term — of  no  small  number  of  the  marriages 
that  are  now  permitted,  without  a  protest  being  ven- 
tured, will  be  evident  to  any  who  choose  to  think 
about  the  question.  Love  obedient  to  the  teaching 
of  Science — that  will  be  curious,  at  first !  But  many 
a  child  martyr  has  yet  to  suffer  and  die  under  our 
present  superstitions  ;  many  a  careworn  father  will 
sink  beneath  the  burden  and  anxiety  of  a  sickly  or 
too  numerous  family ;  many  a  young  mother,  wholly 
unfitted  by  nature  to  become  such,  will  yet  be  sacri- 
ficed to  the  doctrines  founded  on  ignorance  and 
credulity,  now  all-powerful  in  these  matters,  before 
the  truth  prevails.  And  though  there  is  some  per- 
ception already  of  the  more  reasonable  morality  that 
is  slowly  growing  into  power,  it  is  a  significant  fact 
that  its  possibilities  are  steadily  ignored,  or  even 
condemned,  by  the  orthodox,  who,  in  their  attention 
to  dovelike  simplicity,  would  seem  to  have  forgotten 
the  wisdom  of  the  serpent — notwithstanding  its  no 
less  authoritative  recommendation. 

To  the  effects  then,  mental  as  well  as  physical, 
social  as  well  as  individual,  of  a  system  of  ethics 
based  on  unprejudiced  deductions  from  our  constantly 
increasing  knowledge  of  nature's  laws,  we  may  look 
forward   in  confidence   and    hope.      Ignorance    and 


NATURAL   MORALITY.  28 1 

temptation,  those  two  principal  causes  of  sin  and 
suffering,  are  now  subject  to  a  more  persistent  and 
systematic  attack  than  ever  before  :  that  the  former 
retreats  as  science  advances  is  of  course  self-evident  ; 
and  that  acceptance  of  the  truly  moral  doctrine  of 
causation  will  necessarily  tend  to  diminish  the  latter 
is  hardly  less  so.  For  whilst  religion,  by  her  theory 
that  forgiveness  can  be  won  by  earnest  repentance, 
offers  some  slight  encouragement  to  the  sinner,  who 
is  thereby  led  to  hope  that  he  may  (by  good  luck 
or  good  management)  enjoy  the  pleasures,  and  yet 
avoid  the  penalties,  of  his  self-indulgence — science 
sternly  forbids  any  such  expectations.  With  a 
perfect  indifference  to  all  offences  against  a  merely 
ceremonial  or  artificial  morality,  she  combines  the 
rigid  doctrine  that  every  real  infraction  of  nature's 
moral  precepts  must  be  followed  by  punishment, — 
as  its  inevitable  consequence, — of  which  no  repent- 
ance can  take  the  place,  no  forgiveness  obviate  the 
necessity. 

But  more  than  this,  the  doctrine  of  evolution  is 
that  the  continued  process  of  civilization  will  result 
in  the  creation  of  a  race  for  which  what  is  truly 
immoral — intrinsically  bad — will  not  have  the  smallest 
attraction,  being  indeed  repugnant  to  all  highly 
evolved  natures.  "  Even  in  our  own  time  we  may 
hope  to  see  some  improvement  ;  but  the  unselfish 
mind  will  find  its  highest  gratification  in  the  belief 


282  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

that,  whatever  may  be  the  case  with  ourselves,  our 
descendants  will  understand  many  things  which  are 
hidden  from  us  now,  will  better  appreciate  the  beau- 
tiful world  in  which  we  live,  avoid  much  of  that 
suffering  to  which  we  are  subject,  enjoy  many  bless- 
ings of  which  we  are  not  yet  worthy,  and  escape 
many  of  those  temptations  which  we  deplore,  but 
cannot  wholly  resist"  (Lubbock). 

Still  we  must  not  forget  that  it  is  in  our  power 
to  retard  the  good  time  coming,  by  carelessness  or 
inaction,  even  more,  perhaps,  than  by  a  continuance 
of  blundering  and  earnestness  ;  for  certainly  we  need 
our  faith  and  energy  no  less,  when  following  the 
guidance  of  science,  than  when  under  the  more 
stationary  rule  of  a  religious  creed.  "  Progress  is  not 
automatic,  in  the  sense  that  if  we  were  all  to  be  cast 
into  a  deep  slumber  for  the  space  of  a  generation, 
we  should  arouse  to  find  ourselves  in  a  greatly 
improved  social  state.  The  world  only  grows  better, 
even  in  the  moderate  degree  in  which  it  does  grow 
better,  because  people  wish  that  it  should,  and  take 
the  right  steps  to  make  it  better.  Evolution  is  not 
a  force,  but  a  process,  not  a  cause,  but  a  law ;  it 
explains  the  source,  and  marks  the  immoveable  limi- 
tations of  social  energy.  But  social  energy  can 
never  be  superseded  either  by  evolution  or  by 
anything  else,"  (Morley,  "  On  Compromise," p.  i6i.) 


NATURAL   MORALITY.  283 

And  now  to  bring  this  desultory  glance  over  the 
situation  to  an  end;,  with  the  expression  of  the  hope 
that  our  readers  may  have  gained  some  Httle  food 
for  curiosity  and  thought,  and  will  carry  away  with 
them  no  mere  feeling  of  suspicion  or  even  dislike  for 
the  doctrines  here  sketched.  And  if  we  ask  our- 
selves once  more  that  often-repeated  question  of  the 
German  Rationalist,  ''  Are  we  yet  Christians  ?  "  may 
we  not  fairly  say  that  history  and  science  unite  in 
answering  thus  :  So  far  as  conduct  is  concerned  (and 
that,  according  to  Mr.  Matthew  Arnold,  is  three 
fourths  of  life),  the  great  majority  of  us  never  have 
been  Christians,  or  anything  at  all  resembling  them, 
and  never  can  be.  But,  in  the  future,  morality  will 
become  more  like  what  Christ  taught,  though  without 
the  basis  he  assumed,  and  not  aittained  in  the  manner 
he  indicated ;  and  this  superficial  resemblance  it  is 
that  causes  so  many  still  to  cherish  the  belief  that 
the  world  is  steadily  growing  more  obedient  to  their 
great  Master.  Humanity  will  be  easily  moral  in 
those  yet  far  distant  days,  it  is  true,  but  it  will  be  so 
by  keeping  to  the  natural  track ;  for  goodness  is  a 
question  of  organization,  and  will  be  safely,  perma- 
nently won,  only  when  the  indispensable  physical 
characteristics  shall  have  been  at  length  evolved. 

Let  us,  then,  abandon  the  pretence  of  following 
our  old  guides.  The  churches  do  but  formulate 
their  ignorance  both  of  the  starting-point  and  of  the 


284  NATURAL   MORALITY. 

goal  of  morality  :  dead  to  the  needs  and  hopes  of  the 
present,  their  theories  are  of  interest  now  only  as 
historical  relics.  Instead  of  these  Jet  us  frankly 
accept  the  teaching  of  the  last  and  greatest  of  God's 
prophets,  Science,  who  alone  can  tell  us  truly  what 
we  ought  to  do,  and  what  we  may  become.  And 
one  thing  we  may  learn  certainly  and  at  once  ;  to  put 
away,  as  an  error  of  the  past,  all  asceticism  and 
distrust  of  human  nature.  Thus,  ours  will  be  a  faith 
and  reverence  deeper  than  that  of  the  old  religious 
spirit,  with  its  bitter  and  impatient  cry, "  IV/io  shall 
deliver  me  out  of  the  body  of  this  death  .?"  For,  as  we 
look  round  us,  in  admiration  and  gratitude,  on  the 
already  wondrous  results  of  the  Divine  Process  of 
Evolution,  we  shall  feel  a  new  and  confident  hope  of 
the  ultimate  perfection  and  happiness  of  our  race, — 
even  in  this,  its  earthly  home. 


APPENDIX. 


I .     SHOR  T  S  UMMAR  V. 

In  these  days  of  many  books,  and  of  much  strange  and 
revolutionary  thought,  it  is  a  common  complaint  amongst 
those  who  are  not  what  may  be  termed  readers  by  profession, 
or  gifted  with  retentive  memories,  that  they  can  remember  little 
or  nothing  accurately  of  what  they  read,  notwithstanding,  it 
may.be,  a  very  genuine  interest  in  the  subjects  treated  of.  For 
the  help  of  this  large  class  of  intelligent  seekers  after  truth,  and 
to  save  them  not  only  loss  of  time,  but  often  real  dissatisfaction 
or  even  distress,  a  simple  plan  might  frequently  be  adopted  by 
authors — namely,  to  give  a  final  summary  of  their  work  in  a 
series  of  brief  statements  of  the  main  points  they  have  tried  to 
establish  :  such  ultimate  retrospect  being  a  comfortable  support 
for  the  memory,  and  supplying  certain  definite  conclusions  to  be 
carried  away. 

In  these  Notes  the  points  for  w;hich  attention  .is  principally 
asked  are  as  follows  : — 

I.  The  general  purpose  in  view  has  been  the  criticism  of 
Christian  Ethics  by  the  light  of  the  Theory  of  Evolution. 

II.  Two  hypotheses  are  assumed  : — 

I.  That  all  moral  ideas,  even  though  appearing  new,  are  in 
reality  only  the  natural  consecjuents  of  previous  ideas  in  the 
same  order  of  thought. 

285 


286  APPENDIX. 

2.  That  the  growth  of  morality  being  thus  continuous,  and 
mainly  dependent  on  social  and  material  surroundings,  it  is  irra- 
tional to  attribute  directly  to  any  teacher  developments  which 
first  become  manifest  long  after  his  time,  in  a  totally  different 
environment. 

III.  Some  proof  has  been  advanced  on  behalf  of  the  following 
propositions : — 

1.  That  Christ's  moral  teaching  included  no  ethical  novelties, 
but  that  his  originality  consisted  in»the  fact  that  he  estabhshed 
the  essential  difference  between  formal  and  natural  morality,  and 
so  was  the  great  Religious  Liberator  of  mankind. 

2.  That,  considering  the  beliefs  and  practice  of  his  time  and 
country,  it  is  preposterous  to  explain  away  his  recommendations 
of  asceticism,  indiscriminate  almsgiving,  non-resistance  of  evil, 
and  other  customs  then  accepted  as  moral  duties,  as  being 
merely  intended  metapJiorically.  [In  proof  of  this  point,  the 
charity  enjoined  by  the  Rabbis,  and  the  austerities  prevalent 
among  that  parallel  sect  to  Christianity — the  Essenes— -may  be 
more  particularly  borne  in  mind.] 

3.  That  much  of  Christ's  doctrine  was  necessarily  of  only 
temporary  and  local  value ;  but  that  the  Church  has  greatly 
hindered  the  progress  of  knowledge  and  scientific  morality 
by  insisting  that  her  founder's  teaching  is  final  on  all  points. 

4.  That  science  is  now  proving  the  origin  and  nature  of  man 
to  be  entirely  different  to  those  assumed  by  religious  teachers, 
and  thereby  contradicting  much  that  is  essential  to  their  doc- 
trines. 

5.  That  our  views  with  regard  to  the  nature  and  functions  of 
evil  are  consequently  undergoing  a  radical  change  ;  that  we  are 
now  learning  to  look  upon  it  as  an  indispensable  factor  in  the 
divine  process  of  evolution,  and  not  simply  in  the  light  of  so 
much  direct  opposition  to  the  Creator's  intentions. 


APPENDIX.  287 

6.  That,  owing  to  the  limited  and  slowly  progressive  powers 
of  man,  another  fact — the  correlation  of  qualities — has  to  be 
taken  into  account  in  our  estimate  of  human  possibilities ;  and 
this  all  the  ancient  religious  teachers,  from  their  necessary 
ignorance  of  physical  science,  were  unable  to  do. 


II.    LIS T  OF  AU THORI TIES. 

The  author  desires  to  acknowledge  his  indebtedness  to  most 
of  the  following  works :  more  especially  to  those  by  Professor 
Max  Muller,  Professor  Kuenen,  Dr.  Monier  WiUiams,  and  Pro- 
fessor Le  Page  Renouf,  with  regard  to  Chapter  I ;  and  to  the 
writings  of  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer  and  Dr.  Darwin  in  Chapter  III ; 
— which  is  indeed  little  more  than  an  attempt  at  a  simplihed 
version  of  some  of  the  views  so  ably  advocated  in  the  former 
writer's  admirable  work,  "  The  Data  of  Ethics."  Wherever  a 
quotation  has  been  made  in  the  preceding  pages,  it  has  always 
been  indicated  in  the  usual  manner ;  though  often  without  any 
reference  being  given,  as  in  many  cases  this  could  not  be  of  any 
possible  value,  and  would  therefore  only  be  the  cause  of 
unnecessary  length. 

More  particular  attention  should  be  called  to  those  works 
marked  with  an  asterisk ;  whilst  for  readers  who  only  desire 
a  short  course  of  ^udy  which  shall  include  the  greater  part  of 
the  facts  and  arguments  sketched  in  this  volume,  the  7in}nbn-ed 
works  may  be  especially  recommended — to  be  read  in  the  order 
thus  suggested : — 


288 


APPENDIX. 


In  connection  with  Chapter  I. 


Max  Muller  ,         ^     *  "  Introduction   to   the   Science  of  Reli- 
gion."    (i) 
*"  Hibbert  Lectures."     1878.     (3) 
^  "  Translation  of  the  Dhammapada." 

*  "  Selected  Essays." 

*  "Hibbert  Lectures."     1879.     (2) 

*  "  The  Religion  of  Israel." 

*  "  The  Prophets  and  Prophecy  in  Israel." 
*"  Hibbert  Lectures."     1882.     (4) 

"  Outlines  of  the  History  of  Religion."    • 
"  Modern  India  and  the  Indians." 
"  Life  of  Gaudama." 

*  "  The  Light  of  Asia." 
*  "  The  Buddhist  Catechism." 

Afoncure  Con-way   ,       "  The  Sacred  Anthology," 
"  Ceremonial  Institutions." 

*  "  The  Evolution  of  Morality." 
"  The    Pentateuch    and    the     Moabite 

Stone." 
"  Translation  of  the  Hebrew  Prophets." 

*  "  Egyptian  Religion  "  :  Nineteenth  Cen- 
tury, Dec.  1878. 

*  "  Obligation  of  the  New  Testament  to 
Buddhism  "  :  Nineteenth  Ce7itury, 
Dec.   1880. 

*  "  The  Religion  of  Zoroaster  "  :  Nine- 
teeiith  Centtery,  Jan.  1881,     (5) 

*  "  The  Parsis  "  :  Nmeteenth  Cefituty, 
March  1881. 


Renouf 
Kuenen 


Tiele 

Monier  Wilh'ams 

Bigandet 

E.  Arnold 


Spencer  . 

C.  S.  Wake     . 

Co/enso    . 

Noyes 

J.  N.  Hoare    . 

J.  E.  Carpenter 


Monier  Williams 


APPENDIX. 


289 


T.  W.  Rhys  Davids    *  "  Buddha's  First  Sermon  "  :  Fortnight- 
ly, Dec.  1879. 
"  Hibbert  Lectures,  "  i88r. 
*  "  Natural  History  of  Morals  "  :  North  British  Review,  vol. 
xlvii.  p.  389. 
"  Dates  and  Data  relating  to  Religious  Anthropology." 


In  connection  with  Chapter  II, 

Deiitsch  .         .  *  <<  Essay  on  the  Talmud  "  :   Quarterly, 

Oct.  1867.     (6) 
*  "  Article  on  the  Talmud  "  :  Edinburgh,  July,  1873. 


Lightfoot 
C.  C.  Taylor 
Polano    . 
Hershon  . 

Zipser 
J.  Cohen  . 
H.  Rodrigue 


De  Sola  and Raphall 

Laurence 

Hooykaas 

xM.  Arnold 

Greg 

Farrar   . 

Cox 

Baur 


"  Horae  Hebraicee  et  Talmudicas." 

"  Sayings  of  the  Jewish  Fathers."     (7) 

*  "  Selections  from  the  Talmud." 
"  Treasures  of  the  Talmud." 

"  Talmudic  Miscellany." 

*  "  The  Talmud  and  the  Gospels." 

"  The  Deicides,"  esp.  books  xi.,  xii. 
"  Le  Roi  des  Juifs." 

*  "  Les  Origines  du  Sermon  de  la  Mon- 

tagne."   (Michel  Levy,  Paris,  1868. 

Price  3  francs.)     (8) 
"  Treatises  from  the  Mishna." 
"  Translation  of  Enoch." 
"  Bible  for  Young  People." 
"  God  and  the  Bible." 

*  "  Creed  of  Christendom." 

*  "  Eternal  Hope." 

"  Salvator  Mundi." 
♦'^Church  History  of  the  First   Three 
Centuries." 


290 

Dumas 


APPENDIX. 


.    * "  La  Question    du    Divorce,"   csp.    pp. 
17-38. 
*  "  Articles  on  Eternal  Punishment  "  :  Contemporary,  April  and 
May,  1879. 


In  connection  with  Chapter  III. 


Spencer  . 

• 

'  Social  Statics." 
'  Psychology," 

* 

'Sociology." 

* 

'  Data  of  Ethics."     C12) 

Darwin  . 

'  Origin  of  Species." 

sfc 

'  Descent  of  Man."     (9) 

Lubbock  . 

'  Prehistoric  Times." 

* 

'  Origin  of  Civilization." 

Tyler      . 

'  Primitive  Culture." 

* 

'Anthropology."     (10) 

Bagehot  . 

* 

'Physics  and  Politics."     (13) 

Ribot 

* 

'Heredity."     (11) 

Galton     . 

'  Hereditary  Genius." 

Maudsley 

* 

'  Body  and  Mind." 
'Responsibility  in  Mental  Disease." 

Mill 

'  Three  Essays  on  Religion." 

Morley    . 

'On  Compromise." 

Grote 

'  Fragments  on  Ethical  Subjects." 

Fawcett 

'  Pauperism :   Its    Causes    and    Reme- 
dies." 

Lecky 

* ' 

'  History  of  Rationalism." 

Draper  . 

' 

'  Religion  and  Science." 
'The     Intellectual     Development     of 
Europe." 

"  The  Oririn 

of  Religion,"     Wcstm^ster,  KmA,  \ZZ\. 

APPENDIX. 


291 


PASSAGES  FROM   THE  NEW   TESTAMENT 
QUOTED   OR  REFERRED    TO. 

This  index  is  chiefly  intended  to  assist  readers,  as  far  as  is 
possible,  in  satisfying  themselves  that  no  important  point  in  the 
reported  Ethical  Doctrine  of  Christ  has  been  overlooked  in  these 
Notes.  In  referring  to  a  particular  passage,  however,  it  should 
be  remembered  that  the  Gospels  abound  in  duplicate  and 
parallel  sayings,  and  that  accordingly  the  omission  of  any 
special  verse  or  verses  does  not  necessarily  imply  that  the  teach- 
ing they  contain  has  itself  been  passed  over. 


MATTHEW. 

MATTHEW  {cont) 

CHAP. 

VER. 

PAGE 

CHAP.     VER. 

PAGB 

V. 

3-12   . 

.  162 

24 

•  143 

16 

.  107,  194 

25,  26 

.      .      .   85 

18 

.      .  195 

34 

.      .      .   85 

21,  22  . 

.  68.  119 

VII.  I, 

.   90.  194 

23,  24  . 

.  87 

3. 

.  154 

27,  28  . 

68,  119 

6. 

.  108 

31.  32  . 

68.  133 

7- 

.      .   78 

33-37  . 

.  88 

12 

•  93 

38-41  . 

•  155 

13.  14 

.    .  178 

39 

68,  194 

17,  18, 

20  .    .  107 

42 

.  102 

21 

.  106 

43 

.  68 

24-27 

.  106 

44 

■  93.  194 

28,  29 

...  68 

45.  48  . 

74.  160 

VIII.  21,  22 

.  129 

VI. 

1-6   . 

.  163 

X.  8  . 

.  93 

3  • 

.  194 

14.  15 

.  194 

7.  8   . 

.  78 

16 

.  154 

9-13  . 

.  78 

28 

•   .  179 

14.  15  • 

•  91 

29 

•  74 

16-21  . 

.  164 

34-37  . 

.  130 

292 

APPENDIX. 

MATTHEW  (f^«/.). 

MATTHEW  (cont). 

CHAP.              VER. 

PAGE 

CHAP               VER.                                             PAGE 

X.  41-42  . 

.     164 

XXV.  25,  27  .        .        ,  149 

XI.  II 

.     125 

29        .        .        .  108 

XII.  31 

.     175 

34-36,  40   .      .107 

36,  37  . 

.     175 

41,  46         .       .  180 

47-50  . 
XIII.  41 

XV.    I,    2       . 

17-20  . 
XVI.  5-12     . 
XVII.  20 
XVIII.  3,  4      . 

s.  9    . 
15-17  . 

.     130 
.     180 

.     194 
.     204 
.     194 
.        78 

■  153 
120,  179 
109,     194 

.  78 
109,      154 

.        91 

MARK. 
II.  17         . 
IV.  II,  12. 
VII.  14,  15. 

IX.  43-48  . 

X.    2-12      . 
29,    30  . 

XII.  17 

42-44  . 

87 
195 
204 
180 

134 
130 
109 
103 

19 

21,   22  . 

21-35  . 

XVI.  16 

LUKE. 

196 

XIX.  3-1 1     . 

.     134 

VI.  20-23   •        •        .164 

II,  12  . 

.     120 

20,  24 

143 

23,  24  . 

•     143 

27 

154 

29 

.     130 

30 

103 

XX.  15 

.     194 

34-36 

149 

26,  27  . 

.     154 

35 

74 

XXI.    22 

.        78 

36-38 

91 

24 

•     73 

VIII.  16,  17 

194 

XXII.  2-14    , 

,     86 

IX.  59-62 

129 

19-21  . 

•     73 

X.  8 

204 

32 

.     73 

20 

164 

37-40  . 

.     93 

XI.  23 

196 

XXIII.  3  . 

60,  194 

33-36 

194 

8,  10    . 

.  154 

39-52 

195 

9 

.  130 

41 

103 

I»2 

•  153 

XII.  33 

103 

13-36    . 

•  195 

47.  48 

179 

23 

.  194 

XIII.  4,  5 

109 

XXIV.  42-51   . 

.     86 

XIV.  8-10 

153 

XXV.  I -1 3     . 

.     86 

12-14 

144 

APPENDIX. 

293 

LUKE  (f«?«/.). 

ACTS  (conL). 

CHAP.           VER. 

PAGE 

CHAP.              VER. 

PAGB 

XIV.  23 

196 

XI.  3           .        . 

207 

26 

129 

XV.  1-29     .        .  195 

207 

33 

144 

XX.  35        .        . 

104 

XV.  7 

87 

XXI.  17-26  . 

207 

11-32 

74 

XVI.  9 

143 

ROMANS. 

18 

133 

23-26 

179 

II.  28,  29  . 

206 

25 

143 

V.  12 

xii. 

XVII.  10 

173 

VII.  18         .        .        . 

121 

21 

125 

VIII.  13         .        .        . 

121 

XVIII.  22 

103 

XIV.  1-6       .        .  195, 

206 

28-30 

130 

XIX.  20-24 

149 

I.     CORINTHIANS 

XXII.  25,  26 

154 

VI.  7           .        .        . 

155 

36 

194 

VII.  10,  12,  25     . 
VIII.  4-8       ..        . 

134 
195 

JOHN. 

IX.  23,  24. 

165 

III.  18 

196 

X.  25         .        .        . 

207 

20,  ii 

109, 

194 

XV.  19,  32. 

166 

V.  8 

205 

22           .           .           . 

xii. 

44 

153 

VII.  24 

90, 

194 

II.     CORINTHIANS 

. 

VIII.  7 

90 

IX.  6          .        .        . 

166 

32 

88 

34 

109 

GALATIANS. 

IX.  2,  3      . 

no, 

197 

XII.  25 

165 

II.              .        .        . 

206 

XIII.  34,  35  . 

94 

V.  r,  2      . 

206 

XX.  23 

182 

VI.  2          .        .        . 

85 

15        .        .        . 

206 

ACTS. 

n.  44.  45  • 

144 

EPHESIANS. 

IV.  32-35  . 

, 

144 

11.  14.  15  • 

206 

X.  14,  28  . 

195. 

207 

VI.  12         .        .        . 

213 

294 


APPENDIX. 


COLOSSIANS. 

AP.  VER. 

11.  i6,  17  . 
20-23  • 


206 
206 


II.    THESSALONIANS. 
III.  10        .        .        .  145 

I.     TIMOTHY. 

V.  3  ...  206 

VI.  9,  10    .        .        .  145 


JAMES. 

CHAP.  VER. 

I.     9-1  I         . 

n.  5-7     .      . 

V.    12 

JUDE. 
7 

REVELATIONS. 
XIV.  II 
XX.  8-15     . 


PAGE 

145 
89 


180 

59 


180 
180 


INDEX. 


Abraham,  15 

Abyssinian  Canon,  59 

Action,  104-106 

Acts  of  Paul  and  Thecla,  135 

Adler,  Chief  Rabbi,  178 

A gag,  18 

Agnosticism,   52 

Ahura,  30 

Ahuramazda,  29,  31 

Almsgiving,  95-98,  lOl,  102,  143 

Altruism,  225,  267 

Amenemhat,  4 

Amos,  22,  24;  quoted,  25 

Ananda,  48 

Ani,  4 

"Anthology,  The  Sacred,"  288 

' '  Anthropology,  Dates  and  Data 

relating   to    Religious,"    289. 

"Anthropology,  Tylor's,"  290 
Antigonus,  61 
Apocrypha,  58 

Apocryphal  Epistles,  168,  207 
Apocryphal  Gospels,  215 
Apostolic  Constitutions,  182 
Arguments  and  sanctions,  158 
Arnold,  Edwin,  no,   288 
Arnold,  Matthew,  99,  218,  244, 

256,  283,  289 
Asceticism,  72,110-124,213,214^ 

284 


Ascha,  Rabbi,  60 
Assa  Tatkara,  King,  5 
Assyria,  24 

Athanasian  Creed,  215 
Atheism,  52 
Atonement,  vii 
Augustine,  vi 
Australia,  234 

Baal,  14 

Babylon,  captivity  in,  28 

Bagehot,  Walter,  199,  210,  249, 
290 

Baptism,  65 

Baradatus,  123 

Baur,  Prof.,  203,  289 

"  Beza"  MS.,  no,  205 

"  Bible  for  Young  People,"  289 

Bigandet,  Bishop,  48,  288 

"  Body  and  Mind,"  290 

Brahmanism,  41,  200 

Brahmins,  35,  122 

Brazil,  224 

Browne,  Bishop  Harold,  185 

Buckle,  Henry  Thomas,  147 

Buddha,  vii,  34-55,  118,  200, 
258.  "Buddha's  First  Ser- 
mon," 289.     See  Buddhism. 

Buddhism,  33-55,  117,  125,  146, 
159.     199,     210,     212,      217. 


296 


INDEX. 


Buddhism  {Continued). 

"Buddhist  Catechism,"  288. 
"  Obligation  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament to  Buddhism,"  288. 
See  Buddha. 

Burdach,  C.  F.,  232 

Canaanites,  15 

Carpenter,  J.  E.,  288 

Causation,  modern  theory,  79 

Celibacy,  135-137 

"Ceremonial  Institutions,"  2S8 

Ceremonialism,  Christ's  attack 
on,  200 

Chabas,  M.  F.,  5,  7 

Chaldeans,  24 

Charity,  95-98,  145 

Chaucer,  255 

China,  199 

Christianity,  ethics  of,  57-220 

Chrysostom,  136 

"Church  History  of  the  First 
Three  Centuries,"  289 

Circumcision,  i6 

Clement,  Epistle  of,  to  the  Co- 
rinthians, 166 

Clement  of  Alexandria,  122 

Cohen,  J.,  289 

Colenso,  Bishop,  186,  288 

Communism,  Christian,  144 

"Compromise,  Morley  on,"  290 

Compromises,  272 

Comte,  Auguste,  267 

Concubinage,  14 

Confucius,  94 

Conscience,  238-247 

Conway,  Moncure  D.,  288 

Correlation  of  qualities,  251 

Courage,  252 

Cox,  Dr.,  loi,  289 


"  Creed  of  Christendom,"  289 
Critical  interpretation  of  Christ's 

teaching,  98 
Cyprian,  214 
Cyril  of  Alexandria,  124 

Darwin,  Dr.,  221,  225,  235, 
236,  257,  258,  287,  290 

David,  14 

Davids,  T.  W.  Rhys,  28?, 

Decian  persecutions,  214 

"  Deicides,  The,"  289 

Deity,  Egyptian  names,  3,  4; 
Egyptian  ideas,  74;  Hebrew 
ideas,  20,  72-77 

"  Descent  of  Man,"  290 

De  Sola,  289 

Deuteronomy,  9 

Deutsch,  Professor  Emanuel,  ix, 
60,  65,  177,  289 

Devas,  28,  30 

"  Dhammapada,  Translation  of 
the,"  288 

Divine  Unity,  Egyptian  doctrine 
of,  234 

Divorce,  Hebrew  ideas,  73,  132, 
133;  124,  132-140;  in  Amer- 
ica, 138;  in  Belgium,  138;  in 
England,  138.  "La Question 
du  Divorce,"  290 

Draper,  Dr.  J.  W.,  290 

Dualism,  Persian  doctrine  of,3l 

Dumas,  290 

Ebionitism,  148 
Ecclesiastes,  quoted,  232 
Ecclesiasticus,  73,  96,  160 
Egypt,     vii;      Religion,      2-7; 
Divine    Unity,    2;    Resurrec- 
tion,    6;     Monasticism,    21; 
Asceticism,       112;       Future 


INDEX. 


297 


Egypt  {Continued). 

Punishment,  174.  "Egyptian 
Religion,"  288 

Election,  215 

Elias,  20 

Elijah,  113 

Elisha,  20,  22,  113 

Elvira,  Council  of,  182 

Enoch, Book  of,  58,  59,  141,  142, 
175,  176.  "Translation  o* 
Enoch,"  289 

Epistle  of  Clement  to  the  Co- 
rinthians,   166 

Epistle  of  Ignatius  to  the  Ephe- 
sians,  166 

Epistles,  non-canonical,  58 

Esdras,  161,  175 

Essenes,  113-116,  212,  286 

"  Eternal  Hope,"  289 

Ethics,  viii;  Hebrew,  2-56,  72; 
Christian,  57-220;  savage, 
233.  "Data  of  Ethics,"  290. 
"Fragments  on  Ethical  Sub- 
jects," 290.     See  Morality. 

Eunuchism,  122 

Eusebius,  vi,   104 

Evil,  29,  248-260,  286 

Excommunication,  182-184 

Ezekiel,  24,  31 

Ezra,  9 

Family  Ties,  124-132 
Farrar,  Dr.,  170,  178,  289 
Fawcett,  Henry,  290 
Free  Will,  Persian  doctrine  of, 

"  Fullness  of  lime,"  2o3,  227 
Furniss,  Rev.  J.,  186,  190 
Future    Punishment,    vii;   Per- 
sian doctrine,  31,  174;  i70-'5; 


Future  Punishment  (C(?M/m«^</). 
Egyptian  doctrine,  174;  Indi- 
an doctrine,  174;  184.  "Arti- 
cles on  Eternal  Punishment," 
290.    See  Retribution. 

Galton,  Captain,  136,  290 

Gamaliel,  61 

Gathas,  the  five,  29 

Gaudama.     See  Gautama. 

Gautama,  34-55,  no.  "  Life  of 
Gaudama,"  288 

Gehenna,  178 

Gehinnom,  177 

Gibeonites,  14 

"God  and  the  Bible,"  289 

Good  and  evil,  nature  of,  29 

Gospels,  non-canonical,  58. 
"The  Talmud  and  the  Gos- 
pels," 289 

Greece,  200,  208,  209 

Greg,  Wm.  R.,  289 

Grote,  George,  240,  290 

Hades,  179 

Heaven,  vii;  Persian  doctrine 
of,  33 

Heaven,  the  kingdom  of,  65, 
125,  131 

Hebrew  morality,  2-56 

Hebrew  prophets,  19-27,  200 

Hell,  vii;  Persian  doctrine,  33; 
Hebrew  and  Christian  doc- 
trines    compared,     175-193. 

"  Hereditary  Genius,"  136,  137, 
290 

Heredity,  230,  280.  "  Ribot's 
Heredity,"  290 

Hershon,  Paul  Isaac,  62,  63,  289 

Hibbcrt  Lectures,  5,  287,  288, 
289 


298 


INDEX. 


Hillel,  61,  62,  73,  91,  92,  133, 

15T,  201,  202 
Hindu  proverb,  94 
Hinnom,  177 

Historical  writing,  65-69,  194 
Hoare,  J.  N.,  288 
Holiness,   125 
Hooykaas,  Dr.  T.,  289 
"  Horae  Hebraicae  et  Talmudi- 

cse,"  289 
Hosea,  24 

Human  sacrifices,  14 
Humility,  151-158 
Hunt,  Dr.,  170,  190 
Hunt,  Leigh,  159 

Ideal,  the  Christian,  270 

Ignatius,  Epistle  of,  to  the  Ephe- 
sians,  166 

Ignatius  to  Polycarp,  155 

Immortality,  29;  Persian  doc- 
trine, 31 

Incarnation,  vi 

Inconsistencies  in  the  reported 
teaching  of  Christ,  193 

India,  vii;  Monasticism,  20; 
Asceticism.  110-112;  Future 
Punishment,  174;  199.  "In- 
dia and  the  Indians,"  2S8 

"Intellectual  Development  of 
Europe,  The,"  290 

Irenseus,  104,  214 

Isaac,  15,  18 

Isaiah,  quoted,  24,  25,  27,  32, 
177 

Israelite.     See  Hebrew. 

Jael,  13 
Jephlhah,  15,  i3 
Jeremiah,  9,  24;  quoted,  25 


Jerome,  20,  104 

Jewell,  Bishop,  149 

"Jewish  Fathers,  Sayings  of 
the,"  289 

Joel,  quoted,  26 

Johannon,  61 

John  the  Baptist,  113 

Josephus,  113 

Juda  the  Holy,  62 

Judgment,  vii.  See  Future  Pun- 
ishment. 

Justice,  89,  90 

Justin  Martyr,  124 

Kapilavasta,  35 
Keshub  Chunder  Sen,  42 
Kuenen,    Prof.,   23,   24,  25,  29, 
66,  77,  115,  203,  287,  288 

Laboui.aye,  M..  47 

Lancet,  quoted,  270 

Laurence,  289 

Lecky,  290 

Leviticus,  9,  203 

Lex  Taiionis,  il 

Liberal   Theology,    attitude  of^ 

190 
Lightfoot,  Dr.   John,   100,   177, 

289 
"  Light  of  Asia,"  in,  288 
List  of  Authorities,  2S7 
Love,  gi-93;  physical  basis  of, 

257 
Lubbock,    Sir  John,    221,    235, 

2S2,    ZQO 

Luther,  20S 

Maimonid-es,  22.  97 
Marriage,  73,  124,  132-140 
Mathusala,  59 
Maudsley,  H.,  290 


INDEX, 


299 


Mazda,  30 

Mazdeism,    28-33.       See   Mith- 

raism. 
Media,  28 

Melbourne,  Bishop  of,  83 
Mencs,  3 

Menu,  laws  of,  21,  42 
Mercy,  go,  gi 
Messiah,    vii,     211;      Mithraic 

doctrine,  29 
Method  of  Christ,  125 
Micah,  quoted,  25 
Mill,  John  Stuart,  290 
Miracles,  69-72 
Miraculous  Conception,  vi 
Miscellaneous  Sayings,  107-iro 
Mithraism,  28-33,  5i,   n?,  125, 

159.  174 
Mohammedanism,  32 
Moloch,  177 
Monasticism  in  India,  20,  no; 

Syria,  21;  Egypt,  21;  Cochin 

China,  no 
Morality,  Hebrew,  2-56,  72,  73; 

Egyptian,  2-7;  dependent  on 

organization,       126  ;       early 

Christian,  212;  natural,  221- 

284;  meaning  of,  222;  origin 

and     development     of,    224. 

"  Evolution  of  Morality, "288. 

"  Natural  History  of  Morals," 

289.     See  Ethics. 
Moral  sanctions,  276 
Moral  sense,  238-247 
Morley,  John,  282,  290 
Moses,  8 

Mozley,  Canon,  157 
Muir,  Dr.,  23,  39 
MUller,  Prof.  Max,  39,  40,  47, 

61,  287,  288 


Nazarites,  112 

New    Testament   and    Talmud 
compared,  59-180,  264;  quot- 
ed, 291-294.      "  Obligation  of 
the  New  Testament  to  Bud- 
dhism," 208.     '•  Les  Origiiies 
du  Sermon  de  la  Montagne," 
289 
Nirvana,  45,  ,18,  50,  51 
Non-canonica.  Epistles,  58 
Non-canonical  Gospels,  58 
Non-resistance.  124,  151-158 
Noyes,  George  R.,  288 
Numbers,  9 

Oaths,  88 

Obolus,  183 

Old  Testament,  Asceticism  in, 

112 
Origen,  104,  122 
"  Origin  of  Civilization,"  290 
"  Origin  of  Species,"  290 
Originality  of  Christ,  198 
Other- worldliness,    143,      159- 

168,  264,  268 

Parsis,  32,  219.  "The  Parsis," 

288 
Pataliputra,  Council  of,  34 
Patristic  writings,   168 
"Pauperism:    its   Causes    and 

Remedies,"  290 
"  Pentateuch  and   the  Moabite 

Stone,  The,"  288 
Persia,  viii;  Religion  of,  28-33; 

Future  Punishment,  174 
Philo,  75,  113,  114,  209 
"  Physics  and  Politics,"  290 
Pinamonti,  Rev.  Father,  186 
Plato,  75,   209 
Pleasure,  healthiness  of,  260 


300 


INDEX. 


Polano,   Professor,  62,  113,  289 

Polygamy,  14 

Postulates  (Christian)  about 
life,  263 

Poverty,  141-151 

Prairie  Belle,  275 

Prayer,  72,  77,  78;  modern 
ideas,  79-84 

"  Prehistoric  Times,"  290 

"  Primitive  Culture,"  290 

Prisse  Papyrus,  4 

Prophecy  of  Science,  279 

"Prophets  and  Prophecy  in  Is- 
rael," 28S 

Prophets,  Hebrew,  19-27,  141. 
"  Translation  of  the  Hebrew 
Prophets,"  288 

Psalms,  quoted,  18 

"  Psychology,"  Spencer's,  290 

Ptahhotep,  4,  5 

Punishment,  vii.  See  Future 
Punishment. 

Purity,  1 16-124 

Rabbis,  viii,  201 

Raphall,  Morris  Jacob,  289 

"Rationalism,  History  of," 290 

Redemption,  65 

Regeneration,  65 

Relationships,   124-132 

Religion,  pre-scientific  charac- 
teristics, 268.  "  Dates  and 
Data  relating  to  Religious 
Anthropology,"  289.  "Egyp- 
tian Religion,"  288.  "  Intro- 
duction to  the  Science  of," 
288.  "Origin  of  Religion," 
290.  "Outlines  of  the 
History  of,"  288.  "  Reli- 
gion and  Science,"  290. 


Religion  (Continued). 

"  Religion    of    Israel,"   288. 

"  Religion  of  Zoroaster,"  288. 

"  Three  Essays  on  Religion," 

290. 
Religious    feelings,    origin  and 

development,  224 
Renan,  M.,  202,  259 
Renouf,  Prof.  Le  Page,  5,  287, 

288 
Repentance,  72,  86,  87,  275 
"Responsibility  in  Mental  Dis- 
ease," 290 
Resurrection,      vii;      Egyptian 

doctrine,  6;  Persian  doctrine, 

33 
Retribution,     216.     See    Future 

Punishment. 
Revelation,  v 
Ribot,  Th.,  290 
Riches,  141-151 
Rig- Veda,  61 
Rodrigue,  H.,  289 
"  Roi  des  Juifs,  Le,"  289 
Rome,  12,  209 
Ronge,  M.  de,  2 
Ruskin,  Mr.,  157,  221,  256 

Sabbath,  204-207 

"  Salvator  Mundi,"  289 

Samuel,  22 

Sanctions  and  arguments,  158 

Satan,  vii,  31 

Saul,  14,  112 

Science,  Prophecy  of,  279 

Secret  and  method  of  Christ,  125 

Shammai,  61,  62,  93,  133 

Shepherd  of  Hermas,  104,   121, 

122,  134,  135 
Simeon  Stylites,  123 


INDEX. 


301 


Sisera,  13 
Slavery,   13,  250 

^iiditig  Dogma  tisni  ,216 

"  Social  Statics,"  290 

"Sociology,"  Spencer's,  290 

Somadeva,  40 

Son  of  God,  65 

Son  of  Man,  65 

Sosiosh,  29 

Sparta,  12 

Spencer,  Herbert,  16,  17,  80, 
140,  221,  229,  237,  240,  241, 
257,  261,  266,  268,  277,  287, 
288,  290 

Strauss,  Dr.,  146 

Success  of  Christianity,  20S 

Summary,  284-2S7 

Survival  of  the  fittest,  265 

Syria;  Monasticism,  21;  Asceti- 
cism, 112 

Talmud,  ix.  58;  compared 
with  New  Testament,  59- 
180,  264.  "Essay  on  the  Tal- 
mud," 289.  "  Hora;  Hebrai- 
cse  et  Talmudicae,"289.  "Se- 
lections from  the  Talmud," 
289.  "  The  Talmud  and  the 
Gospels,"  289.  "  Talmudic 
Miscellany,"  289.  "Treas- 
ures of  the  Talmud,"  289. 
"Treatises  from  the  Mish- 
na,"  289 

Tanaites,  59 

Tatian,  136 


Taylor,  C.  C,  289 
Temptation,  vii 
Tennyson,  quoted,  259 
Terrorism,    168-175,  213,  277 
Tertullian,  124,  136,  180 
Tiele,  288 
Tobit,  91,  95 
Tolerance,  modern,  215 
Trinity,  vi;  Persian,  29 
Trust,  84,  85 
Truth,  87,  88,  273 
Tylor,   E.  B.,  11,   16,  221,  224, 
249,  255,  290 

Usury,  148-151 

Valens  of  Barathis,  I22 

Vauvenargues,  245 

Vedas,  21 

Vendetta,  10 

Viaticum,  183 

Vicarious  punishment,  2l6 

Virtue,  242 

Wake,  C.  S.,  210,  288 

War,  249,  250 

Williams,  Dr.  Monier,  29,   287, 

288 
Work,  104-106 

Zarathustra,    28.     "  Religion 

of  Zoroaster,"  288 
Zervana,  29 

Zipser,  Dr.,  ix,  60,  133,  289 
Zoroaster,    28.      "  Religion    of 

Zoroaster,"  288 


^^ 


